


House of the Wicked: The Thirteen Devils

by SonofHades



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Bigotry & Prejudice, Dysfunctional Family, Family, M/M, Male Slash, Religious Conflict, Witch Curses, Witchcraft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-10
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-02-16 20:42:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 154,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2283873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonofHades/pseuds/SonofHades
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy Jackson has been sent from home, in search of long lost relatives, with no idea who they are. Sent to the deep south, Percy finds himself surrounded by religious churchgoers and a group of outcasted individuals. Between a death, a crazy religious woman trying to cook for him, and an angry black haired boy, Percy's not so sure he wants to find his family in a place like this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The New Kid

**Author's Note:**

> Way too many characters to try and tag for this. Deal with it.

He had to move faster. That was all thirteen year old Percy Jackson had going through his mind as he kicked off the wall and swam back the way he had just come from. The water was calming to him, even if people were yelling, and other boys were furiously swimming beside him. The water just drowned it out. He felt calm.

He just wanted to impress his parents. They had taken time out to come watch his regionals' match, and he was never one to disappoint when it came to his parents. They were surely in the crowd, watching and cheering him on. He wanted to make them proud, even if they constantly reminded him that they would always be proud of him.

Even though it was his first year at his high school, he had quickly become one of the best on his team. His father had always had him around the beaches in California. He had even learned to surf at a young age. So, Percy had quickly become a natural in the water, and his father constantly reminded him of it. And his mother was not much different. She would always place her hand on Percy's cheek in that motherly way and tell him he was special.

The water practically parted for him as he swam towards the end of the pool. His arms were sore, as were his legs, but none of that mattered. He knew the end was near, and he knew what he wanted. All he had to do was reach out and grab it.

A horn was blown as he grabbed the edge of the pool. A huge grin broke out across his face as he removed the goggles from his eyes and looked around. He found his parents clapping for him, his mother raising the camera for a picture. He beamed at them as he raised his fist up victoriously.

He ended up being wrapped in a large towel and hugged by his parents. He got a trophy and lots of congratulations from his friends. Percy smiled brightly for all the pictures he was forced to take for the next hour, the trophy held tightly in his arms.

Percy was then swept away to dinner of his choice, with the promise of ice cream after. “Percy, you did swimmingly out there today,” Poseidon said as the three family members at their dinner. The mother and son groaned at him.

“Was that supposed to be a bad pun, Dad?” Percy made a face before shoving another bite of pizza into his mouth. As delicious as it was, it would never beat the kind his mother made. It would, sadly, never be blue. The one time he had asked for them to make his blue, he had gotten stared at very oddly.

All Percy was met with was a warbling voice, whispering in the distance. A chill ran down his spine as he looked up. Suddenly, the place felt darker, the walls felt closer. And his parents were nowhere to be found. He stood there, alone, in darkness.

In the distance, there was a streetlight. At its base stood a man, cigarette lit in his mouth. Taking in a deep breath, the man's face was illuminated for Percy. The corner of the man's lips tilted up. He took a step to the side, revealing Percy's father. Poseidon fell to his knees, and Percy saw it.

A bullet hole was centered in Poseidon's skull. Percy's eyes widened in panic as he dashed away from the man under the streetlight. Fear overtook him. It pumped through his veins as his feet carried him as fast as they could. Blood began to flow down the streets, into the drains, like rain.

Car horns were blown, though Percy never came across any. There were screams and gunshots, but Percy kept running. He refused to stop, until he heard his name being yelled. “Percy!”

He knew that voice. “Mom!” He yelled into the darkness.

The reply came in the form of a gunshot. He froze as the bullet came towards him. But his mother was there, suddenly, standing in front of him. She grabbed him as tightly as she could, shielding him from the bullet.

The woman's nails sank into his back, the sound of the bullet sinking into his mother piercing his ears like an explosion. He stood there, shaking, as his mother's grip loosened on him. “Mom!” He began to cry, kneeling next to her dying form.

“Run, Percy,” she whispered.

But, before he could react, a sharp pain filled his chest. He looked down to find his shirt soaked in blood. Percy slowly fell onto his side. He lay there, facing his mother's dead body. The sounds of guns going off still filled his ears, his blood pooling around him.

In no time at all, Sally's eyes shot open and she reached out and grabbed his neck. Her face had become decayed, and her teeth were rotten. Her nails felt like needles as they held him. “Percy!” She wailed and lunged at him.

A sixteen year old Percy Jackson shot up in his seat. His breathing was ragged as he ran a hand through his shaggy, black hair. He groaned, pulling his hand away. He was covered in sweat. Though, he had to wonder if that was just from the dream. He pulled his shirt back and checked his chest. No bullet wound.

No, that had vanished just under three years ago. Still, it had become a habit of his, ever since that night. He just needed to remind himself that the nightmares were just dreams. No, that was not the right word for them. Bad reminders of what he had miraculously lived through. He let out a sigh and fell back onto his seat. He lay there, staring up at the ceiling. Making a face, he cranked his car.

“How does anyone survive in this place?” He grumbled under his breath.

Percy was starting his senior year in high school. But was he spending it with all of his friends? No, of course not. His aunt, who had decided not to accompany him on this trip-which she had forced him to go on-had decided to remain back in San Francisco.

“You need to go find your father's family,” she had said one day. The most frustrating part? She did not even know if they were still in this place. Nor could she even give him a name to look for. He loved the woman, but this felt cruel, especially with the humidity and mosquitos. He had been unaware that mosquitos could even come in the size of pterodactyls, at least until reaching this place.

Louisiana, the birthplace of both his parents, or so he had been told. And even worse, it was not even in New Orleans, the one place he had wanted to visit in the state. Emphasis on the just visit part. No, he was being sent to the middle of nowhere. The place barely showed up on his phone's GPS; that was, when it actually could find signal.

The only reason he had even managed to come as far as he had managed to get as far as he had was because the people of the south definitely lived up to their reputation of hospitality. Though, in some places, when he would ask where Aimes, Louisiana was, they would look at him weird.

“Oh, you mean Aimes, son,” most of them would say. He had not counted on them pronouncing the word like the word 'aims'. He would just sigh and nod.

And then there was the amount of open space. Last night, he had driven an hour before reaching the next town. And, in that time, he had barely encountered any other vehicles. And it only seemed to get worse the closer he got to the town.

“Not many people go out that ways,” would be the reply from some people. To say the least, it did not ease his nerves about the entire thing. And he was not even going to get started on the lack of hills and all the swamps.

Percy blew out a breath and raised his seat. He got out of his car with a groan. As much as he had wanted to just fly out here, he did need his car. With a stretch, Percy began walking towards the rest stop he was currently parked at's main building.

A few truckers stood around inside, laughing and drinking some of the free refreshments. He wiped at his eyes and stifled a yawn as he stepped up to the desk. A tall woman with bright blonde hair smiled brightly at him. “Something you need, sugar?”

“Um,” Percy rubbed the back of his hair, “I was sort of wondering if you could give me some directions to Aimes.”

The woman raised a brow at him. “Well, not every day that we have people wanting to go out there,” the blonde woman replied. Her accent was everything that Percy had expected from someone from the south. She pulled out a small map and pointed down at it with her bright, pink nails. “You just wanna keep going straight on this road here, sweetie. It'll take you straight into town.”

“Thanks,” Percy mumbled.

She gave him the look over. “Would you like some coffee, or something? It's free. You look a little sick.”

The boy shook his head. “I'll be fine.” He found himself unconsciously scratching his chest. He frowned and dropped his hand. “Can I keep this?” He asked, picking up the map.

She smiled a sickeningly sweet smile. “'Course, sugar. I bet the girls are gonna have a time minding themselves with a handsome young man like you coming into town.”

Percy gave a lopsided smile and stepped away from the desk. Placing the map into his back pocket, he headed for the exit. He peeled his collar back again, just to check. The skin was slightly pink now from where he had been scratching.

When he got back in the car, he yanked the map out and placed it on the passenger seat. His backseat was, as expected, packed to the brim. Even the floor of the passenger seat had stuff in it. He had a few more things, but his aunt was going to be shipping that to him.

Checking his mirrors, he pulled out of the parking spot he had taken last night, his left foot already beginning to tap on its own. Tomorrow, he would be starting school, in a completely new place. He already had his schedule, which looked boring. The school's list for curriculum had not been promising. And, while he was not the biggest fan of school, he had been frustrated that some things that he had been needing to take were not being offered at his new school. And that was not even touching on the lack of sports.

Percy was, or had been, the captain of both the swim team and water polo team back at his old school. And the two things that Percy had checked first, that the school did not even have? Swimming and water polo. He had collapsed on his bed and let out a groan so loud that his aunt had heard him downstairs. But they did have baseball, which Percy had signed up for, albeit with a glare to his computer screen.

The road was fairly straight, with no sharp turns at all. And he could see for miles. He felt open, exposed as he drove. There were no hills, no mountains, anywhere. Plenty of trees, just no elevated lands. Why did these people not at least build tall buildings? After getting past Texas, he had not seen a single skyscraper. 

A little over an hour later, the peaceful scenery had lost its appeal on him. “Work, dammit!” Percy groaned, dropping his phone in his lap. He winced and stopped biting his lip. He could not even recall how long he had been doing it. How was he supposed to find his apartment, if he could not even access his GPS?

On the bright side, he had found the town. Well, the exit for the town. He had parked his car and had attempted to locate his destination, with little luck. He groaned and hit his head on the steering wheel. Screw it, he thought to himself.

Shifting his car back into drive, he took off towards the town. There were a lot of trees, and not many signs of there being a town around here. He did notice, though, that there was an increase in houses.

After a few minutes, he sighed in relief upon sighting a stop sign. Sure enough, the town was just beyond it. Not very tall buildings, he noted. As he came to a stop at the sign, he took note that none of them seemed to go higher than three stories. He missed home already.

A piece of paper sat in his lap, the name of the apartments and street address scribbled down on it. He glanced down at it and leaned forward in his seat, trying to get a look at each street that he passed. He quickly found the city hall, police station, and even his new high school easily. They were actually not that far apart.

The downtown area had more people walking about. The women wore a lot of weaved hats and long dresses. He was sure he would be able to hear their hills clacking if he had been outside. The one thing they definitely did not have a shortage of were churches. Percy seemed to find one of those, almost, on every street.

Not much seemed to be open on Sunday, aside from restaurants. In a few hours, he had no doubt that everyone would be heading to get a seat at church. The streets of the downtown area were lined with small shops: clothing, jewelry, a few diners, and even a photography studio.

Two men sat outside one of the diners, chewing tobacco. Percy made a face as each of them raised an empty bottle and spit the contents of their mouth into it. Disgusting, he thought.

Thirty minutes later, he still was unable to find any trace of where he needed to go. And his phone? Completely useless. The service kept shooting up and down like one of those fountains outside of Vegas hotels.

His salvation came when he went to drive by the school again. Four teenagers stood on the sidewalk by the road. One of the shorter ones, a boy by the looks of it,strangely enough in a black hoodie, gave a small wave to the other three. How he was not suffocating in this humid weather was beyond Percy. A tall blond boy smiled and pulled the boy in black into a hug.

A short girl with black hair smirked at the two boys and shot her hand out, into the boy's hood. A pale hand shot out and smacked it away before sliding them into his hoodie pockets and walking away. He did not seem to be in a big hurry as he crossed the football field and disappeared into the woods on the other side of the school. The blond boy and black haired girl were laughing at something, while a blonde girl stood to the side. She rolled her eyes at something the other two said.

Percy stopped his car beside them and rolled down his window. The black haired girl quieted down and nudged the tall blond, who had his back to Percy. When he turned around, Percy was met by a pair of chilling, icy blue eyes. The blond blinked at him and before glancing at the other two.

“Hey,” Percy called out. “I don't suppose any of you could help me find an apartment complex?”

The short raven haired girl blinked and stared at the blonde girl beside her. Leaning in, she whispered something quickly before looking back at Percy. “Us?”

Percy cocked his head to the side, nodding. Why would they think otherwise? He gave them a quick glance over.

The blond boy probably stood around Percy's height, and had a similar lean build to his body. His hair was short and just barely covered his forehead. A mischievous grin sat on his lips, while his right hand rested in his pocket. He was clad in a red and white, striped shirt and white shorts. And the only thing that marred his features was a long, thin scar that ran just under his eye, down to his chin.

The blonde girl stood fairly tall, an inch or two shorter than Percy. She had the build of an athlete and the looks of a princess. Her hair was curled, but pulled back into a ponytail. A yankees cap rested on top of her head, hooding her unnerving grey eyes. Percy shifted in his seat as he stared into them. A silver charm bracelet rested on her wrist, though Percy was nowhere near close enough to get a good look at it.

Finally, there was the raven haired girl. She was the shortest of the group, even counting the boy that had left. She wore black combat boots and ripped shorts. Her grey shirt was torn as well, one of the sleeves hanging off her small shoulder. A dark blue streak that matched her eyes had been dyed in the front of her hair, hanging just beside her left eye. On both of her wrists were spiked bracelets, and a choker was wrapped around her neck.

“He's definitely new,” the raven haired girl stated bluntly. She received a smack to the arm from the blonde girl.

The tall boy chuckled. Walking to the car, he placed his arm above Percy's window. He smiled and held his hand out for Percy. “Sorry, don't mind her. I'm Luke, by the way. And my two partners in crime here are Annabeth and Thalia.” He turned back to Percy with a quick glance over. “You are new here, though, yeah?”

Percy blinked. Very little southern accent came from the blond's voice. He quickly reached out and shook the tan hand. “Percy. Yeah, I just moved here.”

Luke arched a brow, leaning back to peer into the back seat. “I can see that. You're lost?” Percy nodded in response. Luke looked over his shoulder. Thalia and the other girl were whispering to each other. “Hey, you two,” the girls shut up at Luke's remark and glared, “you wanna help the new guy out? Maybe we can get you a new friend, Thals.”

The girl in the baseball hat tugged Thalia towards the car, just behind Luke. “So, where you from?”

“California.”

Luke let out a low whistle. “Long ways from home.” A crooked grin appeared on his lips. “Come on, let us be off before the saints discover us walking the streets and toss holy water on us.”

The blonde girl rolled her eyes and held her hand out. “I'm Annabeth. Don't mind Luke, he's just obnoxious.”

Luke scratched a spot just below his eye before shrugging. “So,” he leaned down to rest his arms on the window, “you want us to tag along? We'd be happy to rob-I mean, help you settle in.”

“Um,” Percy started, eyeing all three of them.

Annabeth sighed. “Luke, don't scare him. I'm sure he'll get enough fear beat into him by tomorrow.” Luke laughed at that. Percy failed to get the joke. “Better get used to it, Percy. You're gonna get a lot of that famous southern hospitality around here.”

“I guess I could use the help,” Percy mumbled with a glance to his backseat.

“Great!” Luke smacked the open window. “You girls wanna sit in my lap?”

“And work?” Thalia's nose crinkled up. “Gross. What fun would that be?” Annabeth's eyes widened as her arm was grabbed. “Come on, Annie, we'll go find something better to do?”

“Don't I get a say in this?” Annabeth asked as she was dragged away.

Luke just chuckled and shook his head. “Don't mind Thalia. All right, one second.” He jogged around and got into the passenger seat. Picking up the piece of paper from the seat, he looked it over. “Nice. All right,” he pointed forwards, “you're gonna want to take a left at the second stop sign up ahead.”

They drove through another strip of the town. Luke seemed to quiet down from his cheerful self, at least when he was not making conversation. It was curious. The blond sank back into his seat when they passed people crossing the street.

Percy kept a fairly constant watch on the blond. Something about him gave off this very troublesome vibe. The robbing comment had also not helped. And just to willingly offer to help a stranger unpack? Was that thing common around here?

Luke looked over to find Percy watching him. “So, what brings you out here?”

Percy let out a sigh. “Court orders from my aunt, the judge.” Luke cracked a smile, though it was nowhere near as full as the ones from a moment ago. “I don't know. She wants me to find some long lost relatives, but she didn't come with me.”

Luke gave him an odd stare. “Wow. I hope you like motherly figures.”

“Why?”

The blond snorted. But even with his amusement, the blond seemed bothered by something. His eyes had become dull and bored. “Because I'm betting you have at least five show up at your door every night.” Percy just blinked at him. He was joking, right? “A new kid alone in a southern town, and you expect people not to swoop in on you?” Without even looking away, Luke pointed to an upcoming road. “Take a right.”

The town seemed to lessen on this road. There were more trees, less stores, and more houses. “So, what grade are you in?”

“I'll be a senior this year.”

Percy perked up. “Oh yeah? That's what I'll be.” It was sort of a relief, even if he just met Luke, that he already met someone from his grade.

Luke lightly nodded his head, though his eyes seemed to be off in a world of their own. “That's cool. How old are you?”

“Sixteen.” Percy glanced at the blond from the corner of his eye. He was already prepared for the reaction he was going to get.

The blond's eyebrows shot up. “You smart, or something? Damn.”

Percy smiled at that. The boy's accent seemed to poke through more when he cursed. “No, not really. Well, I'm average.” He shrugged and turned his attention back to the road. “No, I'm an August baby, and my parents decided to put me in school early.”

Luke nodded. “I see.” It was quiet for a moment, the blond relaxing into his chair. His right hand was grasping the seatbelt. “It'll be up here on the right.” The blond's brow furrowed. “Where are your parents?” Percy blinked over at him. “You said your aunt sent you here, so where are your parents?”

“Oh.” Percy licked his lips and frowned. “They're, uh, not alive.”

“Oh.” Luke chewed on his lip. “Sorry, dude,” he whispered.

The raven haired boy shook his head. “Not your fault.”

As Luke said, the complex sat on the right side of the road. Percy slowed down and turned into the drive. Leaning forward, he watched each of the numbers on the door until he found the one he needed. With a sigh, he parked the car and turned it off.

“Well,” Luke clapped him on the shoulder, “home sweet home, I guess.”

The apartment was not actually bad, but Percy still caught the meaning of Luke's words. The blond could tell he was not thrilled to be here. But who could really blame him? If he did have family, why had they not come looking for him? Why had he never met them? If this was all so important, Percy felt he should have at least heard of these people before. But his aunt did not even know their names.

By the time Percy got out of the car, Luke already had a box in his hand. He smiled over at Percy. “Where to?”

Percy pointed to the second floor as he opened the door on his side. “13A.”

Upon retrieving the first box he could grab from the backseat, Percy looked up at his new home. Some of the bushes in front of his car were beginning to wither. He had a balcony, of sorts, due to living on the second floor. Though, he would have to share it with three other tenants. He had one window in the front, right next to the door.

“You got your key yet?” Luke called down.

“Shit,” Percy cursed under his breath. “One second, let me run to the office.”

Luke placed his box on the ground and leaned on the railing with a smirk. He pointed down the way they had entered. “First building at the entrance.”

The raven haired boy sat down his box and took off jogging down the cracked sidewalk. Blades of grass jutted up from some of the cracks. No one seemed to be leaving their apartments yet, either due to still being asleep or already having left for church.

Percy found the office where Luke had indicated. Pulling the glass door open, he stepped inside. An elderly woman sat in a chair behind the counter. Percy found himself unsurprised when he spotted a pastor on the TV she sat watching. “Um, excuse me.”

The woman looked over at him, a slight shake to her. “Can I help you, young man?”

“Yes, ma'am. I'm Percy Jackson, I'm supposed to move into apartment 13A today.”

The woman slowly stood up and wobbled over to the desk. Fingering through some papers, she pulled one out. “Here you are, sweetie.” The white paper was slid across the desk. “Just sign at the bottom and I can give you your key.”

Percy smiled and grabbed pen. He scribbled his name across the line at the bottom before sliding it back across.

“And you're moving in by yourself?” She asked, her voice raising in pitch at the end of the last word.” Percy nodded with a small smile. “Oh dear. Well, don't worry, I'll get some of the ladies at church to cook you up some food.”

Percy paused. She could not really be serious. “That's...very nice of you, but I'll be fine,” he finally replied, flashing a bright smile.

She shook her head, the chained glasses threatening to fall from her face. “I'll have none of that.” She held out a silver key. “Now then, here's the key to your new place.” She clasped Percy's hand when he went to get it. “And don't hesitate to ask for anything if you need it, y'hear?”

“Yes, ma'am.” Percy gave her another smile before leaving the building. He paused there, key in hand. These people were joking about all the hospitality, right? He blinked. Right? He smiled and shook his head. Surely it would not be that bad.

When he got back to his apartment building, he found Luke still leaning on the railing. The blond's eyes were distant, unfocused, as they fingered a necklace that Percy had failed to notice him wearing before. Percy squinted and tried to get a better look at it, but Luke spotted him and slipped it back under his shirt. He flashed a smile down at Percy.

“Get the key?”

Percy held up the key. He quickly grabbed the box he had placed on the ground and bounded up the stairs. He worked to balance the box and attempted to get the key into the door. “So, is there anything fun to do around here?”

Luke used his foot to open the door for Percy. “Depends on who you ask. You, um...” He trailed off, lightly chewing on his lip. “Never mind. Just, um, don't be a stranger.”

Percy was not sure what happened while he had been away, but Luke seemed depressed now. Or nervous. He stared into Luke's eyes for a long minute, until the blond smiled and slid into the apartment.

The apartment was far from impressive, but it would do. It was not run down like Percy had been dreading, but it just did not feel like home. The kitchen and living room were conjoined. A sliding door was in the kitchen, partially open to reveal a washer and dryer. Farther back were two doors opposite each other. Sitting his box down, Percy walked towards them.

He reached into the one on the right to reveal his new bathroom. It was rather small, barely fitting in a sink, toilet, and shower. Blowing out a breath, he shut off the light and moved to the other door. Flipping on this light, he found his bedroom. Like the bathroom, it was small. But it would do, he supposed.

“So what are you gonna be sleeping on?” Luke leaned on the door. “I didn't see a bed in your car.”

“Air mattress.” Percy flipped the light off. “I'll have to find a new mattress and some furniture to go in the place.”

“Sucks.” The blond shrugged with a smirk. “Just think of it as camping indoors.” Percy rolled his eyes. “I'd offer you a place to crash at my house, but my dad's not always fond of having company over.”

“It's fine.” Percy scratched at his chest, his brows furrowed. “You know any place to eat? I'm probably going to be hungry after this.”

Luke chuckled and squeezed his shoulder. “Don't worry, I'll find you something. I'll call Annabeth and Thalia, drag the two of them back over.” He seemed to think about something, tapping a finger to his lip. “My brothers are busy today.” Luke chuckled again with a shrug. “Probably up to no good, knowing them.” Scrunching his lips, he picked up the box he had taken from Percy's car and placed it against a wall in the living room. “Not sure what the others are doing today,” he mumbled.

“Others?” Percy watched Luke as he picked his own box up.

The blond chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. “Long story. But I'm sure you'll get to hear more about that at school tomorrow.” Percy noted that the blond had reached up to squeeze his necklace when he had said that.

The two stepped back outside the apartment and slowly walked down the stairs. Percy noted how quiet everything still was. He let out a sigh. Nothing like home, he thought. “So, you have brothers?”

Luke gave a nod, though he did not spare Percy a look. “Three brothers. Lucky me, I'm the oldest and have to keep all of them in line.”

“What about your parents?”

Luke stopped at the bottom steps. Percy stopped as well to turn around and look at him. The blond had slipped his hands into his back pockets and was now staring through a small clearing, where a church could be seen. “My mom's not around anymore either.”

“Oh.” Percy bit down on his lip as he opened his car. “I'm sorry. I guess we're sort of in the same boat.”

Those icy blue eyes of Luke's seemed to chill Percy's blood as they focused back on the raven haired boy. “Yeah,” he whispered.

The rest of the boxes were unloaded in near constant silence. Luke merely chose to speak whenever he needed to know where something went. He could understand where Luke was coming from, though. He did not like to have to talk about his parents' death either. Years could pass, and it did not make it much easier to discuss.

It was not until they had gotten all the boxes inside that Luke took notice of Percy watching him. He quirked a brow and a small smile touched at his lips. “Don't worry about me, just needed a minute.”

Percy cut open a random box and opened it up. He smiled down at his trophies and medals. He scrunched his lips and looked around his room. He would need some shelves to put them on. He looked up when he noticed Luke just standing there, holding something from another box.

“What?”

Luke turned around, a pair of chopsticks in one hand, a rice cooker in the other. “You like Asian cooking? Can you cook?”

Percy shrugged and Luke looked down at the medals in his hands. “Yeah, sort of. I'm not the best cook, but I can feed myself. And I do better with oriental cooking.”

“Oh.” The blond blinked down at the pair of chopsticks. Percy snorted as he watched the blond try to work them.

“Do you even know how to use those?”

Blond hair shook loosely as the blond responded that he did not. “Can't really say that I do. As you can imagine, we don't have any Chinese or Japanese restaurants around here.”

Percy felt his stomach clench. “Please tell me you at least sell rice or something at stores.”

“Well, yeah, I guess. I don't really go looking for the stuff. The twins' mom does all the grocery shopping at the house.” Luke scratched at his head and sat the items in his hands on the kitchen counter. “So who taught you to cook and eat with this stuff?”

Percy shrugged, pulling out a fairly large first place trophy. “My aunt.”

Percy's eyes darted over to note the perplexed look on the blond face. “Oh.” Blond eyebrows began to furrow, and Percy could practically see the wheels turning in Luke's head. He was sure there were going to be more questions soon to follow.

But they never came as Luke opened up another box and pulled out a picture. He cocked his head to the side and turned it around, revealing a brunet boy with light brown, curly hair. His pale face was lightly freckled, and a small birthmark sat right between his eyes. He was rather thin, though the photo truly failed to capture that aspect.

Luke's blue eyes darted up to stare at Percy before returning to the picture. Percy sighed, his shoulders slumping. The brunet had been another reason he had not wanted to move. “That's my ex from back home,” Percy said softly.

Luke's eyebrows rose as he gaped at Percy. It did little to make Percy feel better at the moment, to say the least. “Oh, so you're into dudes?”

Percy let out a sigh. “Yeah. You got a problem with it?”

Luke chuckled nervously and held up his hands defensively. “No, man. I'm cool with it. Just...surprised a little.” He gestured to the box of trophies and then to Percy. “Just with you looking like...well, you, I didn't really think...never mind.”

Percy just shrugged and reached into the box at his feet. When he glanced up, he found Luke with a hint of pink of his cheeks. It looked like the blond was actually trying to keep his mouth shut. He was a bit odd perhaps, Percy thought.

For several minutes, Luke kept himself busy with unloading boxes and made little eye contact with Percy. The blond practically ignored him, though it seemed to be for reasons other than a distaste for the other boy in the room. The raven haired boy frowned and stood back up, poster now in hand. He held it out and looked around the room.

Luke sat some unpacked plates aside. “Is that Michael Phelps?” Percy gave a nod. “You must really like swimming.”

“Was the team captain for both our swim and water polo teams last year. Would have been this year, if I didn't have to move.” Percy blew out a breath, sending his bangs flying up. He stepped down the hall and placed the poster into his room. “But, looks like life has other plans for me.”

“Well,” Luke chuckled, “seems you're out of luck here.” Crouching down, the blond opened up another box. “There really aren't any pools around here.” He looked up with a frown, pointing a knife at Percy. “And I'd recommend not going to the Beauregards' place.”

Percy just blinked at him, mouth slightly ajar. “You're kidding, right? Beauregard? Sounds like something out of the Civil War.”

Luke shrugged, pulling some clothes out of the box in front of him. “Well, the family did fight in the Civil War.” The blond mumbled something else, but Percy failed to catch it.

“You don't call it the 'War of Northern Aggression' down here?” Percy mumbled.

Luke just chuckled. “Well, some people might, but not me. Some of us southern country folk are educated down here,” Luke replied, thickening his accent on the last sentence to tease Percy. “But, yeah, don't go there.”

The Californian tilted his head to the side. “Why not? They aren't friends with you, or something?”

Luke smirked. “Oh, Silena and I are great friends. I'd be more concerned with the rest of her family.” His blue eyes glanced over Percy's body. “Mainly I'd be concerned for your wellbeing.”

Percy frowned as Luke went back to unpacking his box. He glanced down at himself. Was there something wrong with the way he looked? A pool was a pool, as far as he was concerned. He needed to swim, or he might lose his mind.

“Huh.” Percy frowned and looked over at Luke. The blond poked through several surrounding boxes. “You don't have, like, a bible, or something?”

Percy shook his head. “No. I didn't know it was a requirement for this place.” He made a face. “I'm not going to be forced to go to church, am I?”

“That completely depends on you.” Luke's blue eyes met Percy's sea-green ones. “I'm sure people will notice if you don't go. And I'm sure all the pretty Southern belles around here will be happy to invite you to their house of worship.”

Percy sighed, sitting his laptop bag off to the side. “Do they wear the hoop skirts?”

Luke laughed. “No. Do you believe everything you see about the south in movies and television?”

Percy scratched at his cheek, which were now a light pink. Now he felt like the uneducated one. Well, it was just Luke that he had really met so far. His expectations for the remainder of the town were still not very high. He just had no intention of being dragged to some church.

“You're interesting,” Luke suddenly said. Percy blinked and looked down at him. “You don't have a bible, you seem to have a brain, and you're into guys.”

Percy rolled his eyes with a sigh. “Is the fact that I like guys that big of a deal?”

Luke shook his head with a grin. “No, just find it interesting, that's all. And you are in good shape. Always a plus, I suppose.” Percy frowned when Luke mumbled the last part. Luke grinned up at him. “So, you want me to help set everything up?”

Percy blew out a breath and glanced around. “No, I think I'll do that later. I'll deal with it when the rest comes in.” His lips scrunched up. “I'll have to do some shopping. I need food, and I'll need things like shelves.”

As if on cue, Luke's stomach growled. The blond chuckled and stood up. “Well, looks like you're not the only one who turned out hungry.” He slipped his phone out of his pocket. “I'll call the girls and we can grab some food,” blue eyes glanced up at the raven haired boy, “if you want to tag along.”

Percy paused before nodding. It still bothered him about the friendliness that he had received already, but perhaps it was just something he had to get used to. Percy's stomach growled as well. “Yeah, food sounds great right now.”

“Great.” Luke beamed and held his phone up to his ear. “It's almost time for lunch anyways, and most people will be on their way to church.” He paused. “Hey, Annabeth. Yeah, we're done.” The blond's lips scrunched up. “No, I don't think you should trust her to give you a makeover. Yes, I remember what she did to him. And you know how much he hates pink.”

Percy's stomach growled again. He would have to go grocery shopping as soon as he was done with school tomorrow. He would not survive long without nourishment. Luke seemed to notice his stomach again and chuckled.

“Yeah, hey,” Luke continued. “So, the new kid and I were going to grab some food while the angry mobs are gonna be at church. You two want to tag along?” Luke beamed and ran his finger along the metal chain around his neck. “Great! We'll see you two in fifteen.” Luke hung up and smiled over at Percy. “So, we'll meet up by the school. You want to just walk?”

Percy hesitated, his mouth opening and closing. “Um, we don't need to drive?”

“Aw, city kids.” Luke chuckled and opened the door for Percy. The raven haired boy stepped outside and Luke allowed him to lock his apartment door. “No, the place won't be that far to walk. And it'll give Thalia some sun.”

Percy chuckled as they walked down the stairs. Luke was turning out to be an okay guy. Perhaps a little odd, but still a nice guy. So Percy was somewhat happy that he had at least made a friend today. It would make tomorrow a bit easier on him.

They found Annabeth and Thalia standing under a large tree. The black choker around Thalia's neck caught the green-eyed boy's attention in the light. A silver coin hung from it, and on it was etched an eagle carrying a lightning bolt. “Are you two girls ready yet?” Thalia asked. Percy looked up to meet her eyes when she looked over at him.

“Been waiting on you two,” Luke smirked with his arms crossed.

Thalia grinned and hooped her arm through Luke's. The blond smiled and began walking. Annabeth peered around the two between Percy and herself. “So, did you get all settled in?”

“For the most part.” Percy stared down at her. “I have some more stuff coming tomorrow, so I'm just going to wait on organizing everything. Well,” he chuckled, “what can constitute as organizing.”

The school was left behind them as they walked down the sidewalk. They got a few looks from people along the way from the few people that had apparently not already on their way to church. In a small town like this, he was not surprised he was drawing attention from passing eyes.

Luke's brow furrowed and he slowed down. A crowd had congregated outside one of the churches. The two girls took notice of this and they began to walk more cautiously down the sidewalk. But when a loud sob pierced through the air, all four of them stopped. A woman with tears streaking down her face broke through the crowd. And Percy finally saw what everyone was looking at, though no one was willing to get extremely close to.

Hanging from the cross that sat outside the church was a man, or what was left of one. His face was melted, actually melted, like candle wax. Boils, pustules, and burns covered every inch of exposed flesh on his body. The man's clothes were still smoking and had been burned severely. Percy could see where some of the man's nose was starting to sink lower on his face. His eyes were missing from their sockets, and his mouth hung open. And then the smell of sulfur finally hit his nose.

The crying woman fell backwards as she skidded to a halt. Her eyes were wide as she saw them. “They did this!” She cried out.

The crowd of church goers turned around. Angry looks quickly replaced their distraught ones. “They murdered the pastor!”

Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth took a step back. Luke held an arm out, placing it in front of the two girls. Thalia's eyes were wide in fright, while Annabeth had her lips pursed and her head down. And then the chorus of shouting began.

“Devil worshippers!”

“Satanists!”

“They're evil! They need to be run out of town!”

“Witches!”

Percy just stood there in shock. He was not sure what to concern himself with more. A dead man was crucified on a cross, the town was full of ignorant bigots, and his new friends were being accused of killing a man with witchcraft.


	2. In Walked Sin

The alarm by his bed went off, but Percy was already wide awake. His arm rested behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. He had not slept much the previous night. But, as long as he did not fall asleep during his first day at school, he would be good.

He had ended up spending the rest of his day yesterday in his apartment. After the chaos at the church, Luke had dragged them to the nearest diner and paid for everyone's meals. Thalia had been on her phone at the time, which Percy had paid little attention to, at least until the blond in the car showed up. As soon as their food was ready, the girls had gotten into the newly arrived car and sunk down into their seats. Luke did a quick job of apologizing before jumping into the passenger seat, leaving Percy standing outside the diner.

Letting out a sigh, Percy slipped out of bed. He moved the blinds aside, revealing the sliding glass door to his balcony. Slipping on some pajama pants, he stepped outside and rested his arms on the metal railing that surrounded his apartment's balcony. He had a great view, too, if woods were what he wanted to look at. That was definitely something he found no shortage of down here. But the air was definitely cleaner than back home, and it did not feel as humid in the morning.

There was a small field across from his apartment, just beyond the street. And beyond that were more woods. But that was not what caught his attention at the moment. From the trees, five kids emerged. One of them looked to be the blond boy that had picked Luke and the others up yesterday. Why was he not driving his car to school?

Shaking his head, Percy stepped back inside and closed the door to his balcony. He needed to worry about getting to school, not who was walking through the woods. He gathered up some fresh clothes before stepping across the hall to his bathroom.

After a quick shower and some breakfast, which mostly consisted of a granola bar and some orange juice he had picked up at a gas station on the way home yesterday, he headed out the door. Percy opened his car, but stared towards the town. For a second, he debated just walking, but that quickly died and he jumped in his car. Besides, he needed to get some groceries after school.

As he passed in front of the school, he found the buses dropping a lot of students off. A few parents were doing the same with their kids, probably freshmen, who looked embarrassed as their mothers wished them luck on their first day.

Turning the corner, Percy found the student parking. It was not hard to find a spot, though. When he turned his car off, he sat there for a moment, wondering just how small his new school was. The school itself looked to be half the size of his old one, so he could only imagine the difference in the student body.

Getting out of his car, Percy walked towards the building, receiving a few stares along the way. The building he found himself in happened to be the cafeteria, which consisted of a lot of glass windows and a lot of decorations showing off their school mascot, a wolf.

The school consisted of four buildings, sat up in an “X” pattern. There was a flagpole placed in the middle of the courtyard, which was surrounded by several students. Percy raised an eyebrow at them as they held hands around the flag, their heads bowed. Were they praying?

Not paying attention to where he was going, he ended up bumping into someone. A girl with long, black hair drew back with a hiss. “Watch where you're going,” she growled.

She was quite pale, with dark eyes. Her nails were painted black and she wore black silk beneath her shirt, which reached down to her hand, her middle finger slid through a hole at the end of it. A small, hooped bangle sat on her wrist, the emblem on it facing the ground.

Percy rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry,” he apologized.

The girl sneered at him before shoving by him. Percy turned to watch her walk off. The students quickly parted for her as she passed, like she might burn them if they made any contact with her. Someone needed to get off their high horse, Percy thought. Shaking his head, he headed for, what looked like, the main building.

And as luck would have it, it was. The office was just to the right when he entered. The door thick and took some effort to open. The secretary was a petite woman, sitting behind a small desk and typing away at her computer. Her dark hair was kept up in a bun, which had a pencil sticking through it. Her glasses hung from a thin chain around her neck, which rested against her chest.

Percy cleared his throat to get her attention. The woman seemed startled by Percy's sudden appearance. “Sorry, sorry, I'm just a little overwhelmed at the moment,” she apologized as she got up from her chair, nearly tumbling to the floor.

Percy just stared at her with wide eyes and a slightly ajar mouth. “Um, hi, I just transferred. My name's Percy Jackson, and-”

“Ah, yes!” Percy's eyes widened further. The woman shifted over to the counter and began poking through a stack of files in a small tray. “Here we are,” she said to herself, pulling a folder from the stack. “Everything seems to be in order. I'll just need you to sign here for me, and we can let your aunt know that you're here.”

Percy nodded and picked up a pen from the counter. Signing his name, he slid it back to the woman with a small smile. As the secretary looked over his papers, Percy took a moment to glance around. The office was not anywhere near as big as the one at his last school. The principal's door was slightly ajar, though there did not seem to be any noise coming from within, which left no way of knowing if the principal was even there.

“I assume you have a copy of your schedule?” Percy turned back to the woman, who now had her glasses resting on the bridge of her nose. Percy blinked a few times before nodding. “Good, good. Well, if there's anything I can do for you, don't hesitate to come ask me. My name's Mrs. Hedge, but you can just call me Mrs. Mellie.” She moved like the wind as she grabbed a small post-it note and scribbled something down. “Now then, here's your locker number and combination.”

“Thank you.” Percy smiled as he took the note.

“Oh, Kinzie.”

Mrs. Mellie was waving to a girl that was leaving the office. Percy turned to meet a girl with auburn curls. She had a pair of bright, hazel eyes and a smile so sweet looking that it might put honey to shame. Her shorts were cut off just above her knees, while her hair draped down her back.

Mrs. Mellie smiled at her. “This here is our new student, Percy. Would you mind showing him to his locker, and maybe directing him to his first class?”

The girl named Kinzie smiled at the woman before nodding. “'Course, Mrs. Mellie. I'm sure you're loaded down like my nephew in the toy store.” The girl was a head shorter than Percy, he noticed as they walked out of the office. “So where're you from?”

“California.” Percy found his head bobbing slightly as he answered her.

“Wow, that's quite a ways from home. I can only imagine how different it must be. But I think you'll like our small town here.” She smiled and began to twirl her hair around her finger. With her other hand, she plucked the paper from Percy's hand. “All right, it looks like your locker is upstairs.”

As they ascended the stairs, the students began to part in front of them. Kinzie came to a quick halt, stepping to the side as a tall Asian girl came walking down, flipping her hair over her shoulder. She was very pretty, like something straight out of a fashion magazine. Her heels made a loud noise with each step that she took, accompanied by the clatter of all of her jewelry. A piece of gum was blown from between her bright pink lips. Her eyes were a dark brown, focused on no one in particular.

Percy made a quick side step as she neared him, since she did not seem like she intended to move. Several students whispered as she walked by. Her eyes flickered over to Percy momentarily and it was like a magnetic force hit him. Their eyes were locked and he found himself having a hard time looking away.

She stuck her nose up and continued on her way. Percy shook his head, his mind now foggy. “Who was that?”

“Oh, uh, that?” Kinzie pursed her lips as they reached the top of the stairs. “That's Drew Tanaka. But don't let that last name fool you, she's one of them Beauregards.” The auburn haired girl nodded. She looked like she had tasted something sour, just speaking the girl's name. “Her mother's a harlot.”

Did anyone even use that word anymore? Percy found himself looking down the stairs, even though Drew was long gone. He jogged to catch up to Kinzie. “What's so bad about them?”

Kinzie came to a stop. She looked around before leaning in. “She's from one of the families. We don't like them much around here. They're bad people, pray to the devil and everything. The worst are those di Angelos, demons they are.” She glanced around again. “You should stay clear of them, if you know what's good for you.”

“Um, thanks?”

Kinzie nodded her head towards the row of lockers. “Here's your locker.” She cleared her throat, rubbing her arm. “You mind if I have a look at your schedule?”

Percy slid his backpack off his left shoulder and swung it around to his side. “Um, let's see.” He chewed on his lip until his fingers found what he was looking for. “Here you go,” he said with a smile. He studied the girl as she read it over. He had been raised to be nice, but he had also been raised not to stand for racism and prejudice. The way the town seemed to treat these people did not sit right with Percy. He could only assume that Luke, Annabeth, and Thalia belonged to these 'families' that Kinzie spoke of.

“Aw.” Percy blinked, focusing his attention back on Kinzie. “Looks like we don't have any classes together.” She bit down on her lip as she handed the schedule back to Percy. “I see you're trying out for the baseball team. I'm sure you'd look mighty handsome in that uniform.”

Percy chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “Thanks. Um, I don't suppose you could point me towards Mrs. Nakamura's class?”

“Um, sure.” Kinzie smiled and pulled Percy into the middle of the hall. Unlike his old school, he found the halls far less crowded. It felt a little odd to him, not having people working to shove past him, now that he was standing in the middle of the hallway. “Just go down this hall, and it will be the last door on the left.”

Percy nodded. “Thanks. I'll see you around, I guess.”

Kinzie winked at him, walking off down the hall. “Oh you can count on that.”

Percy looked down at his schedule again before heading the way Kinzie had pointed him. But, as luck would have it, he ended up encountering another child from one of the families Kinzie had spoken of. This time, it was another girl. Her cinnamon colored hair fell around her shoulders as she reached into her locker to deposit one of the many binders she was carrying in her arms, though the binder never made it.

It ended up getting smacked out of her hands by a laughing jock as he passed, cheerleader girlfriend cackling on his arm. Percy stopped and stared for a second. The other kids around the girl did not even bother to move to help her gather her things. There was some snickering in the hall, but for the most part it was dead silent. Kids held their breaths as they stared down at the girl.

Percy finally moved, stepping over to crouch down beside her. Picking up one of the binders, he held it in front of her face. “Here.”

She blinked up at him. Percy found himself taken aback by the color of her eyes. They almost looked like they could be gold. A golden hazel, perhaps? Her skin tone reminded him of a roasted coffee bean, and her eyes just as warm as the coffee it made. Her lips were pressed in a thin line as she accepted the binder from him.

“Thank you.” She stood up, looking Percy over. “You're new, aren't you?”

Her accent was...different. That was the best way for Percy to describe it. It was not the deep southern one that Percy had often heard from the people around here, yet it was not lacking like Luke's. Not quite Jamaican, yet there seemed to be a touch of it in there. Cajun, perhaps?

“Yeah, just moved to town,” Percy finally answered. He held out his hand. “The name's Percy.”

The girl slightly nodded her head. “I think you met my friends Luke, Annabeth, and Thalia.”

Percy chuckled. “Yeah. Luke helped me unpack my things.”

She finally took Percy's hand. “Hazel. Hazel Levesque.”

“Sorry about those guys,” the green-eyed boy mumbled.

Hazel shook her head. “It's not a big deal. I've gotten used to it.” Percy noticed she had a hard time looking at him while she said this. She brushed some hair behind her ear, which ended up causing Percy to take notice of the ring on her hand.

The girl held the binders tightly to her chest. Around her finger was a ring. The crest was black with a silver skull in it. Above the skull's head sat a crown. It was not the kind of emblem Percy would picture a happy-looking girl like this wearing. The skull was also not the ordinary kind that he would often see printed on alternative types of clothing. It looked very vivid, like something straight out of Dracula's castle.

Hazel seemed to take notice, as she fidgeted with it until the crest was no longer facing towards Percy. “Well, thanks again, I better be heading to class.”

“Yeah,” Percy nodded, “same.” 

Percy's brow furrowed as she walked off, though his eyes did not follow her. Perhaps this was one of the reasons the people around here outcasted them like this? As far as he was aware, people in the south were supposed to react as such to things of a gothic nature. But this was not Salem, and it was not the seventeenth century.

Percy stepped into his first class of the day: Calculus. The teacher was busy writing on the dry-erase board behind her desk. The classroom was relatively empty, about ten other students in the room. Percy found himself standing in the middle of the classroom, mouth slightly agape. In his last school, he barely could find a seat, and now he was in a class like this?

The teacher cleared her throat, placing the marker down. She turned to Percy. Her dark hair did not even reach her shoulders, curling all over the place. She was dressed in a deep red blouse and jeans, a white belt around her waist. A black jacket was draped over the back of her chair. Her face was slender, her cheekbones sticking out slightly.

“You must be the school's new arrival.” She snapped her fingers at him. “Well, let's see your schedule.” The class quieted down as Percy handed over his schedule, all eyes on him. The teacher quickly glanced at it before shoving it back in his direction. “Welcome to Calculus then, Mr. Jackson. I'll be your teacher, Mrs. Nakamura, though some of my more...creative students,” she glanced at two of the boys in the class, “have taken to calling me Nemesis.”

The two boys paled and sank into their seats. Percy's brow furrowed, his eyes shifting from one side of the room to the other. He found that most of the students congregated to the right side of the room. He was starting to wonder why, until he took notice of a blonde head of hair.

Annabeth sat, head down, in her desk. Her eyes skimmed over the pages of her book. The girl's palm was placed on her cheek. She sat alone, save for a thin boy beside her.

But unlike Annabeth, the boy was watching him, though with the same bored expression that Annabeth was currently giving her book. His eyes were just as stormy and grey as the blonde next to him. His hair, while blond, was a dirtier color that the girl beside him. A leather bracelet was wrapped around his wrist, an ivory owl in the very center of it.

“Well,” Mrs. Nakamura waved her hand at the desks, “just take a seat wherever you like.”

Percy took a step forward. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed several students trying to motion for him to move towards them. Annabeth seemed to be paying more attention than she let on, as she rolled her eyes.

Percy, choosing to ignore the other kids, moved to sit down behind Annabeth. The teacher raised an eyebrow at him as he sat down, but chose not to say anything. This was stupid, and he was not going to be a part of this stupid way of thinking.

Annabeth turned her head ever so slightly. “Looks like Luke might have been right about you,” she whispered.

Percy smiled and focused his attention on Mrs. Nakamura. Leaning back in his seat, he tapped his pencil against his, now open, binder.

\---------------------------------------------

Mrs. Nakamura released them upon the sound of the bell. Percy began packing up, pencil in his mouth. The blond boy turned in his seat to face Annabeth. “So, this is the new kid?”

Annabeth gave a nod. “See? He's not as bad as the other cavemen around here.”

The slender boy looked Percy over. Narrowing his eyes cautiously, he held out his hand for Percy. “Malcolm.”

He nodded. “Percy.”

Annabeth grabbed her backpack and stood up. “Malcolm's my cousin. Don't mind him, we just don't see many people willing to talk to us.”

“'Cause you're freaks,” someone called as they walked out the door.

Annabeth pressed her lips together, nodding her head. “And now you see why we didn't know what would happen when you started today. We don't have many new kids around here, but when we do, they usually end up believing the stupid tales that the rest of the town tells them.” The blonde rolled her eyes. “So we just try and stick together.”

Percy nodded his head. “Yeah, I think I might have run into some of your group.” He tossed his thumb over the shoulder. “There was one that was kind of scary.”

Annabeth smirked. “I'm pretty sure you ran into Medea di Angelo. Don't worry, her siblings aren't so bad.”

Malcolm snorted. “Well-”

The girl shot him a look. “Don't listen to him.” She returned her piercing grey gaze to Percy. “Bianca's pretty friendly, but her brother can be a little defensive at times.” She smiled as she walked with the other two to the door. “So, sorry about having to leave like that yesterday.”

Percy shook his head. “Don't worry about it. I'm pretty sure I'd freak out too, if I thought the town was wanting to lynch me.” He blinked a few times. “You guys don't still do that around here, do you?”

Malcolm chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, there are still a few trees standing that used to be used for it.” He raised a brow. “This might be the south, but this is 2013-yes, the trees still get used.”

Percy's eyes widened. Annabeth palmed her face. “He's joking,” she licked her lips, “sort of.”

“Sort of?” Percy leaned against the wall, next to the door they had just exited. “What do you mean by that?”

“It's extremely rare, but it has happened while I've been alive.” Annabeth popped her lips, shifting her weight. “Well, this is uncomfortable now.”

“What's uncomfortable?” Luke appeared behind Annabeth, hands on the straps of his backpack. He smiled. “Hey, Percy. Still hanging around us, I see.”

Percy eyed Annabeth briefly before looking at Luke. “Yeah. You guys still lynch around here?”

Luke glanced between Annabeth and Malcolm, blowing out a breath. “We can talk about that another time, yeah? Maybe in a more quiet place.”

Annabeth turned her head to look at the tall blond. “What are you doing?”

The blond just shrugged. “Just checking on you. I just dropped Nico off at his locker with Jason.”

Annabeth sighed. “You left them alone?” She shook her head. “Why?”

“They get along just fine, most of the time.” Luke rubbed the back of his neck. “Jason just wanted to discuss some things for next month with him.” He threw on a smile for the glaring girl in front of him. “Trust, Bethie.”

“Don't call me that.” She sighed and touched Percy's shoulder. “Nice seeing you again, Percy. I'll see you tomorrow, I guess, if I don't see you before then.” Malcolm nodded at him as he followed his cousin down the hall.

Luke gave Percy a two fingered salute as he walked backwards after them. “Catch you later, man. Don't be a stranger. We don't bite...much.” He received a punch from Annabeth. He chuckled and turned around, tossing Percy a wave over his shoulder.

Percy turned around, only to be greeted by three teenagers. Two were obviously cheerleaders, their uniforms on full display. The other appeared to play football, wearing a jersey over a white T-shirt. The guy was around Percy's height, with more muscle on him. But it was the girls who stepped forward.

“So we saw that you were talking with the Chases and the Castellan boy,” the first girl said. Her skin was a deep ebony color. The way she smiled at Percy did not sit right with him. Her curly hair bounced as she shifted her weight. “Since you're new, we'll help you out.”

“You should stay away from them,” chimed the second girl. Her eyes, while concerned, reminded Percy of ice, both in color and feel. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail. “My momma says their whole families are satanists.”

The first girl nodded, her face trying to reflect concern. She reached out to touch Percy's arm. “We're just trying to look out for you, since you don't know. “Who knows what they might do to you, if you were go off with them somewhere, alone.”

The guy behind them finally nodded. “Witches, all of them. When that Grace boy tried out for the team and was denied, our entire team came down with the flu.” He leaned in closer. “They make things happen.”

The first girl rolled her eyes, shoving the guy back. “I'm Kelli, by the way. And this,” she motioned to the girl beside her, “is Tammi. And the guy back there is Dylan.”

Percy eyed all of them with his mouth open. “Um,” he blinked a few times, “thanks?” Kelli smiled at him. “I'll, um, keep an eye out.” He nodded before walking around them.

His next class was not hard to find. Since it was Home Economics, all he really had to do was follow his nose to the smell of cooking. The room was warm and smelled delicious. It reminded him of when he would come home from school and his mom would be making cookies.

“Welcome to Home Economics!” Percy nearly stumbled back as a platter of crescent rolls were shoved in his face. “Have a taste!”

Percy blinked down at the tray, slowly reaching out to pick up one of the offered rolls. He then nodded at, who he assumed was, his teacher. She was a middle-aged woman, her hair curled into a short perm. A bright green apron was tied around her waist. She watched Percy expectantly.

“Well?” Percy slowly raised it to his lips, where he let out a moan. The woman beamed. “Excellent!” She sat down the platter and dusted her hands off. “I don't think I've seen you around town before, so you must be the new student. Perseus, was it?”

“Uh, just Percy.”

The woman rapidly nodded her head. “Good, good. I'll be your teacher for this period. You can just call me Ms. Stheno.” She turned and spread her arms out. A few students already there looked up. “Welcome to my dungeon-I mean cooking class.”

Percy eyed her strangely as she laughed crazily. This class would be interesting at least, he supposed. Walking past her, Percy dropped his backpack beside the only empty station in the classroom. Several eyes watched him. The girl next to him had wide eyes. Percy just arched a brow at her as he sat down. Ms. Stheno looked at her watch.

Percy reached into his backpack for a pencil. The bell rang while he was digging through it. “Ah, there you are, Mr. di Angelo,” Ms Stheno said, though Percy was still busy with his backpack. “It looks like you'll have a station partner this year after all.” Percy pulled a pencil and his binder out of his bag, depositing it onto the counter in front of him. He looked up and froze.

It was the boy in black from yesterday. He was still in the jacket, his hands in his pockets. His backpack--not surprisingly at all, black--hung from his left shoulder. His jeans were dark and his shoes were slightly tattered and scuffed. The boy's lips were a pale shade of pink, matching the pale color of the boy's skin. Dark circles had formed under the boy's dark brown eyes, which was partially covered by black hair.

The room was as quiet as a graveyard as the boy moved to sit down next to Percy, not even sparing the green-eyed boy a glance. The smell of peppermint hit Percy's nose as soon as the boy was seated. He began drumming his fingers on the table, slumping in his chair. There, on the boy's finger, was a similar ring to the one Hazel had been wearing. The band was pure silver, shined to perfection. And on top of it sat the exact emblem that had been on the one Hazel wore.

When Percy faced the front of the class again, he found Ms. Stheno frantically searching her desk. “Oh my, it seems I've left the syllabus down in the office.” She held her hands up in front of her. “I'll be right back, everyone behave yourselves.”

It was not long after she had left that the girl that was beside Percy stood up from her station. She marched to the front of where the boy in black sat and placed her hands on the surface. She was a very pretty girl, with a stern looking face. Her long, black hair fell around her face while she was hunched over.

“Everyone else may be afraid of you, but I'm not going to be intimidated like they are. You and the rest of your families are an abomination against the Lord. And I pray, every night, that you don't go straight to hell for your wickedness.”

The boy continued to drum his fingers as he stared at the girl with a dull, and slightly annoyed, expression. The room was silent, everyone watching the girl and boy stare off with each other. But, in the end, it was the girl who cracked first. She swallowed a small lump in her throat as she continued to stare with his disconcertingly bored expression.

“At least I'll be rid of you and the rest of this town,” the boy said quietly. His voice was soft and calm, and completely without a hint of a southern accent. The girl shifted, moving back from the table. It seemed odd to Percy, watching this girl become uncomfortable with this boy that was not even doing anything.

“I hope you burn!” She shrieked, jerking away. “I know it was one of your wretched family members!”

The boy did not respond to her accusation. His eyes dulled and became unfocused as he looked down. But the girl did not budge from her spot. Seeing this, the boy let out a sigh and shook his head. “I'm sorry, Khione, I don't know what you're talking about.”

Khione pursed her lips, glaring at the boy. She huffed before storming back to her seat. Percy glanced at the boy from the corner of his eye. With a quick turn of the head, the black haired boy next to him glared at Percy.

“Uh,” Percy fumbled. His mouth opened and closed a few times, trying to find some words. “I'm Percy. You're friends with Luke, right?”

“Nico,” the boy mumbled, looking down at the table in front of him.

“I'm the new kid.” Nico did not respond. “He, um, helped me out yesterday. Luke that is.”

Nico gave a small nod. “Good for you.”

Percy swallowed. This was going well, he thought. He found himself staring at the boy next to him. Nico was attractive, Percy could definitely say that. The boy was slender and around average height, maybe being able to come up a little above Percy's chin. And now, looking closer, Percy could see a hint of sadness in the boy's dark eyes.

“So, I think I saw you yesterday. We could've, um, met already.” Percy cringed a little. He sounded like an idiot. Nico spared him a dull, brief glance from the corner of his eye. He was not sure why he felt compelled to talk to the boy. “So, um, since we'll be partners-”

“Look,” Nico turned to face Percy, “we might be stuck together for the rest of the year, but that doesn't mean you have to talk to me. I don't know you and you don't know me, so let's keep it that way. I'm not Luke, I don't care about making new friends.” He arched a brow at Percy. “So just do your part of the work and we'll get along great.”

Percy frowned and faced towards the front of the room. Well that was just rude. How did Luke get along with this kid?

Nico let out a breath and turned his attention towards the front of the room just as the teacher returned. “Here we are!” She announced, waving a stack of papers around. She dropped two on each table, slowly making her way around the classroom.

Percy and Nico ended up reaching out at the same time, but Nico drew back his hand as soon as he noticed Percy moving. Nico's dark eyes roamed over to Percy with a venomous look. Percy just arched a brow as he picked up a copy of the syllabus for himself, pushing the other towards the brown-eyed boy.

Through the remainder of the class, Percy found himself stealing glances at the boy next to him. The boy's frame was so small; Percy was probably capable of easily tossing Nico over his shoulder. And his skin was so pale, like death itself. The black coloring of Nico's hair only made the boy's face stick out more, like porcelain. He fiddled with his ring a lot, or so Percy noticed. Absentmindedly, it seemed. Using his other hand, Nico would often chew on his thumb nail.

But he kept his attention on the teacher the entire time. Percy could imagine that it was not easy for any of the children from these families to come to a school like this, where they were persecuted on a daily basis.

Every now and then, Nico's eyes would begin to droop. Perhaps those dark circles under his eyes really were from exhaustion. It was kind of sad, watching the thin boy do everything he could to stay awake.

When the bell rang, most kids shot to their feet. But Nico remained in his seat, with little intent on moving. Percy eyed him as he packed his things up. When Nico nearly fell out of his chair, Percy reached forward, but Nico smacked his hand away. “I'm fine,” Nico mumbled.

“You don't look fine.” Percy zipped his bag. “Do you want me to help you to the nurse's office?”

Nico grabbed his bag and slid it onto his shoulder. “I said I'm fine. I don't need your help.” Barely getting that out of his mouth, the slender boy nearly tripped over a chair. “Fuck,” he hissed.

“Mr. di Angelo,” Ms. Stheno warned, shooting him a look.

Nico rolled his eyes. He turned back to Percy, giving the green-eyed boy an odd look. Percy stood up and walked after him the second Nico began heading for the door. In the doorway, Nico stopped, pressing a hand to Percy's chest.

“I really don't need a knight in shining armor, or whatever you're trying to be. I don't know what game you're trying to play, but I really just prefer to be on my own.” Nico clicked his tongue. “So just back off and we can get along great.”

“But I thought you liked our time together?” Nico let out a sigh as Luke's arm was slipped around his shoulders. Nico glared up at the tall blond. Said blond grinned at Percy. “So I see you've met Nico, our resident shut in.” Nico elbowed Luke, making the blond grab his stomach. “You're so abusive to me.”

Nico grunted as he walked off. “I thought you liked it rough?”

Luke smiled at Percy. “Your day going well?” He nodded towards the retreating form of Nico. “Hope he didn't bother you too much. He's..an acquired taste.”

“I heard that, asshole!”

Luke cringed. “Well,” he smirked and tossed Percy a wave, “I'll catch you later, man. Feel free to sit with us at lunch, if you find yourself lonely.”

“Or if you want your reputation killed,” another blond boy mumbled as he walked past. Percy turned, finding the blond that had picked Luke and the others up yesterday. He nodded towards Luke. “Did I see Nico walk that way?”

Luke nodded. “Yeah, I need to catch him.”

The blond nodded. A small scar rested on the blue-eyed boy's lip, barely noticeable, unless someone looked up close. “Might be a good idea, considering who I just bumped into.”

“Shit,” Luke cursed under his breath. He turned to Percy again. “I'll see you later,” the blond said quickly.

As Percy stood in the hallway, Luke jogged off down the hall with the other blond in tow. As they caught up to Nico, Luke slung his arm around the dark haired boy's shoulders. Nico turned to glare up at Luke, while the other blond was busy talking and motioning with his hands.

Percy blew out a breath as the three finally disappeared into the crowd, no longer visible. At the very least, his first day at school was not really what he had been expecting. He had been expecting to be bored out of his mind, but the prejudice, while bad, and these families were already an impact on his time here.

Nodding to himself, he pulled out his schedule again and journeyed down the hall. His day was far from over, and he could only imagine what else might happen today.

\----------------------------------

When Percy finished getting through the lunch line, he found himself staring around the cafeteria. When he noticed movement, he turned his head to find Kinzie waving him over. Shrugging, he walked over to the girl's table. Sitting down, he found himself between the smiling girl and a tall and slender blond boy.

The blond turned to look at him as he sat down. He had a pair of bright blue eyes and pale skin. His hair reached to his eyebrows, looking neatly styled. His clothes were clean and nice, and an expensive phone sat beside his tray. His stare bothered Percy the most. It felt judgmental, like he was doing his best to find everything wrong with Percy.

Apparently he passed the blond's test, as the boy just shrugged and went back to his food. Percy blinked and turned to Kinzie. “Hi,” he said with a smile.

Kinzie smiled back at him. “Hello again. Having a nice day?” Percy shrugged. Kinzie pursed her lips as she poked at her corn. “So, word is you've been seen around some of those kids.”

Percy blinked. “They're really no good,” the blond kid mumbled on Percy's other side.

Percy turned to glance at him. Kinzie nodded. “Octavian's right, they are trouble. You'd do well to avoid them.”

The boy called Octavian nodded towards Percy. “You're the new kid, then?” Percy slightly nodded. “Well, just looking out for you here, but if you continue hanging around that bunch, you might end up having your throat cut in some ungodly sacrifice.”

A girl across the table nodded. “I hear they dance around fires, out in the woods.” This girl had dark brown hair hanging down to her lower back. Her dark eyes looked annoyed as she chewed her food. She bore a very athletic build, displayed freely by her tank top. “We're pretty sure they had something to do with the pastor's murder.”

Percy fought the urge to roll his eyes. “And where's the proof in that?”

The girl across from him narrowed her eyes. “Strange things are said to have happened when their families moved here.”

“And when was that?”

Kinzie sipped on her drink, watching Percy and the girl. “Well, it's been a few hundred years, but my granny can recall a lot of weird things.” Her eyes widened as she sat her drink down. “Oh, like that car accident Grover's mom was in all those years ago.”

Another girl at the table nodded. Percy was going to guess she was related to the other girl that sat beside her. They had similar features: the same dark hair, dark eyes, same skin tone, and even the same nose. The differences came in small places. This girl's hair was more glossy and bore a single braid. Her face was not as stern-looking as the girl next to her, nor did she appear to be as tall.

“There's also the disappearances, like Khione's dad.” The girl with the braid shrugged. “Strange things just happen around here.”

Kinzie made a noise in the back of her throat. “Goodness, how silly of me. I've completely forgotten that you don't know everyone at the table.” She motioned to the two girls. “This is Hylla and her sister, Reyna.”

Percy nodded at them. “Percy. I just moved here from California.”

Percy let himself fade out of the conversation for a while. He stared down at his food, quietly poking his meatloaf with his fork. The lunchroom quieted down around him. And when he looked up, he found several kids moving to sit at an empty table. Amongst them were Luke and Nico, as well as the blond kid from earlier.

A girl of average height took the seat beside Nico, though the boy was busy talking with Luke on the other side. Like Nico, she bore the same dark brown eyes, though did not look anywhere near as exhausted. Her silky black hair flowed down from under a floppy green hat that rested on top of her head. Her skin was a darker olive color than that of the boy next to her, but they still looked quite similar. She looked healthier, and the authoritative air surrounding her made her stand out.

Percy was going to assume this girl was Nico's sister, Bianca, that Annabeth had mentioned earlier. She nudged Nico, drawing the boy's attention. Bianca simply nodded at his tray, whispering something to the boy. Nico's brow furrowed as he quietly replied, now looking even more tired than he had earlier. Whatever he had said managed drawing Luke in on it, as the blond ended up putting some of his fries on Nico's tray. Nico let out a breath, slumping in his seat.

Percy quickly looked away when Nico's eyes shot up to look at him. He could feel the color rising in his cheeks as he stared down at his food. Kinzie nudged him with a raised eyebrow. When Percy looked up, she followed his gaze.

Kinzie pursed her lips, shaking her head. “That one's severe trouble. That's Nico di Angelo.”

Percy chewed on a fry. “We have Home Ec together.”

Reyna turned her head slightly to look at the dark haired boy behind her. “He's very weird.” She glanced around her table before leaning in to look at Percy. “I've seen him talking to himself a lot, like carrying on conversations with thin air.” She nodded her head. “He's demented, or something.”

Hylla nodded her agreement. “And he's always so quiet. Creepy kid.” Percy stared at her as she made a face, like she tasted something foul. “And he's homosexual.”

Percy blinked. “What?”

Kinzie nodded. “He is. I mean, look at that.” She nodded towards Nico. Percy glanced over. Luke was leaning in, whispering something to the boy. Nico rolled his eyes at the blond. Luke smiled and pulled Nico in, allowing Nico to rest his head on the blond's shoulder and putting his arm around the slender boy. “They're together, it's obvious. He's just damned to hell.”

Percy frowned to himself. He doubted he would make many friends if he broadcasted his sexuality to everyone. Not that he was sure it would really matter. Even back home, it was not something he broadcasted. He never hid it, but he had never felt the need to hold a sign up and yell it to the world either. If he was happy, he figured that should have been all that mattered.

Offering a small smile, Percy stood up. “I'll see you guys later, I'm not really hungry anymore.” Kinzie stared at him like she wanted say something, but let him go. He missed home, but he doubted his aunt was going to let him just come back, especially so soon.

The rest of Percy's day passed by within the blink of an eye. His last period had been tryouts for baseball. He was hoping he would make the team, just so he could have some sport to participate in for the year. Not to mention he would have to rework his schedule if he did not make it.

He now sat in his car, letting the cold air of his air conditioning blast him in the face. While his day had gone by fast, it had also been exhausting. It seemed like in every one of his classes, he had at least one kid from those isolated families. He felt sorry for them. They were just misunderstood, surely, and the people of the town were just being bigots.

He finally sighed and pulled out of the parking lot, leaving the school behind him. His stomach growled along the way, but he needed to get to his apartment first. His things should be arriving shortly, and he needed to be there to get them.

And he was correct. As soon as he pulled into his apartment complex, he found a UPS truck sitting outside of his place. He hurried and parked, spotting the driver at his door. He jumped out and waved up to the man. “Hey, I think you're looking for me.”

Fifteen minutes later, Percy stood in his living room, several boxes at his feet. He groaned and glanced around. Percy would need to get some furniture, and soon. Scrunching his lips, he looked at the boxes again. He was tempted to just unpack all of it, but then his stomach reminded him of more important things and he was out the door and heading for his car.

The drive through town was relatively quiet. Percy kept his windows down and radio off. It was very quiet, a huge change from his old life. He could easily hear conversations that were going on as he drove by. The birds chirped happily in the trees, the sun still hanging on the horizon.

It was very odd, being in a place like this. There was so much open space. He was beginning to see why they did not build their buildings so tall, there was just no need. Around his apartments were fields and woods. The town could easily space itself out, giving everyone in it their room.

He glanced at his phone, which was sitting in his lap. Part of him wondered if he should have gotten some numbers while at school today. It was going to get very boring and lonely at his apartment, so it might be a good idea to have a way of contacting people.

After driving by a small park and an abandoned looking railroad, Percy stumbled upon the grocery store. It was not very big, and did not even have that many people parked outside. There were not even any shopping carts sitting outside, waiting to be put back. Percy's brow furrowed as he stepped out of his car. As he walked towards the door, he observed an elderly man finishing up unloading his shopping cart.

After finished, the man slowly pushed the shopping cart back into the store as Percy entered, where he placed it back with the other ones. Percy slowly pulled one of the other ones out, standing there in confusion for a second. People actually took the time to return shopping carts back to their original spots here?

Shaking his head, Percy pushed forward. He moved around the store, picking out a few simple things: bread, milk, cereal, hot dogs, cheese, etc. But when it came to picking out actual ingredients to make a meal, Percy found himself scratching his head as he browsed the shelves. His aunt had done all of the cooking back home, leaving him to fend for himself over snacks or things like lunch.

He lifted a pound of ground beef from the cold rack, holding it in both of his hands. He blinked at it a few times, looking into his cart to see what he might could use it for. Was he even ready to cook anything? With his luck, he would burn down his apartment. There was a reason his aunt had kept him out of the kitchen, not to mention signed him up for home economics.

“Oh dear, you look lost, sweetheart.”

Percy turned his head to find a motherly looking woman staring at him with a pair of bright brown eyes. Her black hair had been tied back in a large bun, while the rest of her hair looked a little frazzled. She wore a wheat colored dress, which was accompanied by a thin fleece jacket resting on her shoulders. A golden sun necklace with an odd symbol hung around her neck. Percy furrowed his brow, trying to get a better look at it, but the woman adjusted her jacket to hide it.

“Um, what?” Percy blinked.

“You must be the new boy in town.” The woman, who had been standing in front of some fruit, quickly bagged some bananas. “I don't believe I've seen you before, so I would only assume.”

Percy blinked at how fast the woman talked. Her voice reminded Percy of an old school nanny, very punctual and articulate. She also seemed to drag out some of her words at the end of her sentences. “Uh, yeah, that would be me. Percy Jackson, and I just moved here from California.”

She shook his hand with the one that was not currently holding a bag of bananas. “My, you are the tall one.” She squeezed his hand tightly. “And such a firm grip.” She held his arm out, surprising Percy. “You do look the image of healthiness, but I'm told that you're alone here.”

Percy was a little freaked out. Was he going to have to watch if he was being followed home from now on? “Sort of, yeah.” He slowly pulled his hand back, rubbing it against the back of his neck.

“Oh goodness, where are my manners?” She said as she held her face. “My name is Demeter.” Percy smiled awkwardly at her. “You just look a little lost in here, that's all.”

Percy eyed the beef rack again. “Um, yeah, you could sort of say that.”

“Well,” Demeter clapped her hands together, “we'll solve that.” She held up a finger in front of her face, slightly pointing it out at Percy. “You're always welcome to come to my place for a meal, or maybe I can whip something up and bring over to your place.”

Percy, standing there with wide eyes, could not find any words to respond with. He was definitely going to make sure his doors were locked from now on. “That's really unnecessary.”

She simply waved him off. “I'll have none of that, young man. A growing boy needs to eat properly, and I will most certainly not be one to sit by and let a poor child starve. Not on my watch.”

“You-” But she was already pushing her cart off. Percy groaned and hung his head. “You really don't need to do that,” Percy mumbled to himself, letting out a sigh. Blowing out a breath, Percy picked up the pound of ground beef he had been holding earlier and deposited it into his cart.

After he finished with his shopping, Percy found himself behind another motherly looking woman, similarly dressed to Demeter. Though, this woman looked much more stern than Demeter had, and quite a few more wrinkles on her face. A wide brimmed, weaved hat rested on top of her head as she handed the cashier her money.

The young woman behind the register smiled and handed back the woman's change. “Thank you, Mrs. Dodds. Come back and see us soon, and I hope you have a nice day.”

The woman that had been called Mrs. Dodds pocketed her money with a weak smile. “Thank you, sweetie. God bless.” She glanced behind her before moving to push her buggy, but ended up doing a double take. She now stood, staring, at Percy as he placed his items on the checkout conveyer belt. “I don't believe I've seen you in town before.”

“Um, no, I just moved here.” Percy continued to pick up his items from the shopping cart. “It seems like people have been noticing that a lot since I got here.”

The woman touched the back of her hair below her hat. “Well, I do happen to know all the town's residents, and I know I've never seen you around before.” She glanced him over. “You got a church yet?”

“Uh, no.” Percy shook his head. “I'm just settling in.” For some reason, he was getting the impression that it was not the best idea to mention to this woman that he had no intention of attending any church in the area. He had never been to one, and he never really planned on breaking that trend.

The woman eyed him with a narrowed gaze. “Well, if you ever find yourself in the need of a church home, you can come to Aimes Baptist Church. It's in the center of town, can't miss it.”

Percy nodded. The woman walked away, her heals clacking on the floor, leaving Percy with a feeling of relief. He pulled out the debit card his aunt had given him and swiped it, while his groceries were bagged for him. Grabbing his receipt, he placed all of his bags back into his cart and headed for the exit.

He worked on unloading his cart absentmindedly. It was not until he heard a jar break that he actually paid attention to his surroundings. He glanced around until he found the source. Demeter was crouched down beside her car, picking up some of her groceries that must have broken through the bag. A jar of olives had been the source of the noise.

Mrs. Dodds stood nearby, watching the entire thing, but all she seemed to be willing to do was stick her nose up. “A little reminder from our Lord that you walk in darkness, Mrs. Gardner.”

Demeter pursed her lips and worked on picking up the broken shards by her feet. Percy frowned and shut his car door. And, without thinking, began moving towards the scene. Demeter froze when he crouched down in front of her. Mrs. Dodds placed her hand on her chest at witnessing this.

Percy silently picked up each piece of glass and placed the shards in one hand. With his other hand, he helped the woman stand to her feet. “You all right there?”

Demeter cleared her throat before nodding. “Yes, yes. Thank you, Perseus.” She smiled weakly at him before opening the driver side door. “I think I'll bake you a batch of cookies.”

Percy smiled back at her. “That's really not necessary, but thank you.” He nodded at her as she slipped into the driver seat and closed the door. Letting out a sigh, he walked to the side of the store and dumped the glass shards in the garbage.

When he got back to his car, he found Mrs. Dodds waiting on him. “It seems we've acquired ourselves a gentlemen.”

Percy stared back at her, blank faced and hands in his pockets. “Just the way I was raised, to be polite.” His brow furrowed. “And it looked like she needed some help, and I didn't see anyone going to give her any.”

Mrs. Dodds cleared her throat and adjusted her blouse. “Percy, was it?” The green-eyed boy nodded. “You see, we have some...not very nice people in this town. And, well, it's just that Mrs. Gardner is one of those people.” Her hands laced together in front of her. “We've tried getting them to change, really we have, but they are so corrupt with their wickedness.”

Percy nodded his head, lips tightly pursed. He rested his hand on the top of his car. “Well, I met some of those kids at school today, and they just seemed like they were being bullied. And that doesn't really seem right to me, or the Christian thing to do.”

That seemed to offend the woman. She stepped back as he opened his car, placing her hand on her chest with her mouth agape. “Don't let them turn you from the path of the Lord, child.” She took a second to eye his car while he climbed into it. “Why are you grocery shopping anyways? Where's your mother?”

“Dead.” Percy did not wait for a response. Instead, he shut his door and cranked the car. Mrs. Dodds jumped back as he pulled out of his parking spot. This town, while full of seemingly nice people, was also full of racists, bigots, and insufferable people.

All the way home, Percy could not get the day's events off his mind. Even as he unloaded all of his groceries, all he could do was replay the events from the day. But during that time, Percy came to one decision. He had made up his mind on this, and his fate was going to be sealed for this town.

Those kids deserved someone different, someone who would not shun them.


	3. The Two Imps of Aimes

Typically, when a container filled with cookies gets dropped in front of him first thing in the morning, Percy would not think twice about it being anything other than a good sign. However, when he glanced up from the table he sat in the cafeteria to find Nico looking down at him with an emotionless stare, he had to reconsider things.

Percy's green eyes blinked as he glanced between the skinny boy and the fresh cookies. “Um, thank you?” He tilted his head to the side, peeling back the lid.

Luke, who stood behind Nico, chuckled and elbowed Nico in the back. Nico huffed and rolled his eyes. “I was told to give those to you,” the brown-eyed boy mumbled.

Percy's brow furrowed as he stared at Nico in confusion. Luke wrapped an arm around Nico and pulled the boy against his chest. “Nico's grandmother is Demeter.”

“Step-grandmother,” Nico mumbled, crossing his arms and looking away.

Luke shrugged. “Either way, she wouldn't let Nico leave until he promised to hand those to you.” He smirked. “And made him promise to be polite.”

Percy noticed Nico's eye twitch. Luke made a small squeaking noise before pursing his lip. Percy arched a brow, shifting his gaze. Nico had sunk his nails into the arm Luke had put around him. The green-eyed boy quickly looked down and opened the container, pulling out a cookie and stuffing it into his mouth.

As soon as the cookie hit his mouth, his taste buds exploded. “Oh wow, these are delicious.” He chewed it more in his mouth. “These are really good.”

Luke smiled at him. “Demeter does a lot of cooking for our families, especially for when we all get together.” The blond threaded his fingers into Nico's hair, pushing the boy's head slightly to the side. Nico rolled his eyes, but did not seem all that bothered by the action. Was it just Percy, or did Nico seem a lot less irritable when Luke was around?

Percy nodded, still chewing on his cookie. “So, you guys have known each other for a long time?”

Nico did not seem amused, but Luke was not about to let him say anything to ruin the conversation. As soon as the pale boy opened his mouth, the blond slapped a hand over it. “Our whole lives. Nico and I were practically raised together.” He tilted Nico's head back to smile down at the boy, who crossed his arms and glared. “I guess that's why we're so close.”

Nico jerked away from Luke. “This is pointless,” he hissed. “He isn't any different.”

“And I said he was.” Luke sighed as Nico walked off, joining Thalia at a nearby table. The blond shook his head as he stared at the boy. “Sorry about him. I've tried talking to him, but all the people around here have left a bit of damage on him.” Luke pulled out a chair across from Percy and sat down. “I told him you aren't one of those Bible carrying bigots, but he's not really convinced.”

Percy nodded, pushing the cookie container to the side. “That's okay, I guess I can't blame him. Still, if it's all right with you guys, I wouldn't mind hanging sometime, or something.” The raven-haired boy rubbed the back of his neck. “It kind of gets boring when I'm just sitting at my apartment all day.”

“Um, yeah.” Luke chuckled and nodded. “Yeah! We can definitely hang out sometime.” He drummed his hands once before leaning back in his chair. “Wow, I never thought I'd get an offer to spend time with someone outside the-err, outside of our families.” The blond pulled out a small piece of paper that looked like a receipt and scribbled something down. “There's my number, call my anytime you want.”

Percy slid the paper over to himself and glanced at the number on it before nodding. “Thanks. I, um, hope I can convince the rest of you that I'm not a bigot.” The boy chuckled. “Hell, I'm not even a Christian. But, yeah, I think this town is being dumb.” Luke stood up and smirked. Percy slipped the paper into his pocket as the bell rang. “I guess I'll see you later.”

There was a gleam in Luke's eye as he slipped his hands into his pockets. “Oh, you definitely will.”

As the students made their way to exit the cafeteria, Luke disappeared into the crowd. Percy stared down at the cookies Demeter had made for him. If he was to get in with these kids, he figured Luke was the best place to start. Something about Luke made him feel like he was sort of a leader figure.

Letting out a sigh, Percy stood and gathered his backpack and the container. Falling into the crowd, Percy made his way towards the main building. Once inside, he stopped before going up the stairs. Something had caught his eye.

Standing in the main office was Mrs. Dodds, who looked very animated as she pointed and ranted at a very tall man with a scruffy beard. His brown hair almost reached his shoulders. The bearded man was dressed up, wearing khaki pants and short sleeved button-up shirt. A coffee mug rested in his hand.

The man shook his head and opened the door, gesturing for Mrs. Dodds to leave. The woman huffed and stormed out, stopping on the other side. “I'm starting to wonder if they've gotten to you, Chiron.” A lot of the students stopped to watch. “These children need to know who they're going to school with.”

“Believe me, Mrs. Dodds, I'm sure they are already quite familiar with all the rumors. But, as the principal, I cannot allow for outright persecution to happen at my school.” He planted his feet in the doorway and slipped the hand he wasn't using to hold the coffee into his pocket. “Besides, the entire town is already aware of the pastor's death.”

“And you're not going to speak about it?” The woman screeched.

Chiron let out a sigh. “I allowed for a prayer circle to go on yesterday morning. I felt that would suffice.”

Mrs. Dodds narrowed her eyes and wagged her finger in Chiron's face. “Jesus is coming again, Mr. Brunner. I do hope you're on the right side when it happens.” She adjusted her purse on her shoulder. “The town is already concerned, you not attending church and all. It would be unfortunate if the school board were to think you weren't...right for the job anymore.”

The man did not seem bothered by her words. He arched an eyebrow at her. “My dear, Mrs. Dodds, the only unfortunate thing going on at this school is your poor choice in hats.”

Percy bit back a laugh. And, judging by the sound of it, several other students found it amusing, as Percy heard chuckles. Mrs. Dodds's mouth was agape, her hand over her chest. “Well I never!” Turning with a huff, the woman made her way to the exit, students jumping out of her way. “I will not rest, Chiron! I will not rest until this school is safe from those devil worshipers!”

The raven-haired boy shook his head with a laugh as he turned around to head to class, only to bump into someone. The smell of nutmeg instantly filled his nose. Drew stood in front of him, looking like someone just spilled coffee all over her. “Excuse you.”

Percy shook his head, finding himself at a loss for words. “I, um-hi.”

The Asian girl rolled her eyes and inspected her nails. “It would do you well to learn your place around here,” she said with a smirk. She quickly glanced him over before snapping her fingers and moving past him. Percy's mouth hung open as he turned to watch her walk away.

A slender boy followed after her, carrying a lot of books in his hands. His brown hair was cut short and styled to the side, kept from his emerald green eyes. He watched Percy closely as he walked by, mouthing an apology.

Percy blinked a few times and rubbed his head. It felt...foggy, like he could not think straight, or was just waking up. He stared back at the brunet, who smiled and winked at him before turning a corner. Percy stood there like a statue, letting people walk around him. His brow furrowed as he studied the last spot he had seen Drew before she had vanished. That had been odd.

\--------------------------------------

Percy coughed several times, wiping the powder from in front of his face as the explosion of flour cleared. He turned to give Nico an apologetic look, finding the boy in a similar flour covered state. Nico glared at him, attempting to wipe off his shirt.

“Do you even know what you're doing?”

Percy pursed his lips and rubbed the back of his neck. “Not really.” He cringed when Nico shook the flour from his hair. “I'm really sorry.”

Ms. Stheno came to stand in front of them, looking appalled. “In all my years of teaching this class, no one has managed to make this big of a mess.” Even though it had been clearly Percy's fault, she turned to give Nico a look. Nico just shook his head and went back to trying to clean himself up. “I expect you both to stay after and clean this up.”

“Yes, ma'am,” Nico mumbled. Percy just nodded. “Just great.”

Percy began clearing their workstation so it could be wiped clean. “I really am sorry.”

“Were you even listening?” Nico glared at him.

Truthfully? Percy had honestly not been paying attention. His mind was still a little foggy from his encounter with Drew, and that was not even counting his partner. Nico had been a bit of a distraction for him. While he had not been wearing it when Percy had seen him earlier, Nico had entered the classroom with yet another jacket, this time an aviator jacket. How the boy did not suffocate with all these jackets was beyond Percy. Percy was also thankful that the boy had taken it off before they had started baking.

But it had been once the boy had taken his seat that Percy had really taken notice. Nico was shaking today. The dark bags under his eyes very pronounced today, his eyes barely hanging open. The boy had obviously gotten little sleep, if any at all. And, even when they were tasked with baking a small cake, Nico's hands shook as he sat out the ingredients.

But whenever Percy tried to help, Nico had quickly shut him down. Percy was going to guess that Nico had not been paying much attention while letting Percy deal with the flour. Ms. Stheno huffed from her desk.

“All right class, I'll be right back. It looks like I need to get a mop and a rag,” the woman announced. With a dark look in Nico's direction, she left the room.

Before Percy could even process what was happening, Nico had yanked off his T-shirt and tossed it onto his chair. A black metallic chain caught Percy's attention. It swung from Nico's neck before the boy grabbed it to still the necklace. Percy did a quick glance over Nico's body, licking his lips as he took in the slender boy's torso.

He was so thin, a hint of his ribs was even showing. There were no tan lines, not that Percy had really expected any. No hair lay upon the boy's soft looking skin. Quickly running his fingers through his hair to get out any remaining flour, Nico pulled a fresh shirt from his backpack.

“Whoa,” Percy breathed out as the necklace spun to face him.

A bright red stone sat in its center, the name 'di Angelo' scrawled out inside it. A similar skull to the one that had been on Nico's ring sat above the name, this one looking slightly more darker. Four talons sat around the red stone, holding it in place.

“Keep staring at me and you're going to get yourself labeled as gay.” Percy blinked and looked up to meet Nico's eyes, his cheeks now pink. Nico studied him with a blank expression as he slipped the clean shirt over his head, hiding the necklace from Percy's prying gaze. “I do hope you brought a change of clothes.”

Percy kind of wanted to kick himself. “Not really,” he mumbled.

“Sucks for you then.”

During the remainder of their class, Percy and Nico worked hard to clean up their station, and their work paid off as the bell rang and their area was decently cleaned. Ms. Stheno tapped a finger to her lips as she inspected the station. “I suppose it'll do.”

Percy breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to smile at Nico, but the boy was already at the door. The brown-eyed boy turned to glance at Percy briefly before disappearing down the hall. The tall boy let out a groan as he fell back into his seat. He needed to get to his next class, but he also needed to clean himself up. The only class he would need a change of clothes for was his last class, and since it was the last class of the day, he felt it was not necessary for him to worry about showering after baseball tryouts were over. But, given that he was hoping to end up on the team, and that he was pretty much slaughtering any chance of a social standing with the majority of this school, Percy was beginning to think he needed to bring spare clothes from now on.

Grabbing his backpack, Percy stepped into the hall and headed for the bathroom. At the very least, he could try taking a wet paper towel to his shirt. He stepped off to the side to enter the bathroom, but stopped before turning the small corner that was inside.

“I'm trying, really I am,” came a familiar voice. Percy just could not quite place it, though. “I can't tell my father. I mean, he was already suspicious, that's why I got put in this situation.”

A sigh was let out from the other side of the wall. “I'm not asking you to tell him.” Percy's brow furrowed, recognizing Nico's voice. “I just-stop!” Percy slid along the wall at the sound of something being smacked. Peering into the mirror on the opposite wall, Percy found the blond boy with the scar on his lip standing there, rubbing his hand. Nico glared at him. “You know how I feel about this, and I'm not in the mood to have to tell you again.”

“You're grumpy because you're not sleeping.” The blond kid reached out and tilted Nico's chin up. “How much did you sleep last night?”

Nico jerked his head away. “I'm fine.” The pale boy let out a sigh. “I just...I know why you're doing what you're doing, and I don't need protecting from him.”

“I'm just concerned.”

Nico held up a hand, keeping the blond at a distance. “And I know you're full of shit.” The blond opened his mouth, but Nico cut him off. “Okay, maybe not full of shit, but I know you have other motives.”

“I can't help it,” the blond whispered.

Nico pursed his lips. “Jason, you know where I stand with this.” Nico rubbed at his face, blowing out a breath.

Jason clenched his fists at his side. “You've been acting like your father lately, closed off and hands off. I know what you're doing, but we-I need your help.”

Nico wrapped his arms around himself. “She-”

“Sits back and lets others run things,” Jason interrupted. “Stop playing the puppeteer.” He reached out and touched Nico's arm, smiling at the boy. “Please? For me? We've known each other since we were babies, and we used to be really close.”

“And you wonder why your father gets suspicions,” Nico mumbled. Jason tossed him a look. Nico let out a sigh, rolling his eyes. “Things are working fine. And, besides, my sister-”

Percy's eyes widened as something shoved him toppling to the floor. Jason and Nico jumped as Percy slid into the trashcan that sat beside the sink. Percy groaned and rolled over, meeting the girl that Annabeth had identified as Medea yesterday. And, today, she had decided to wear even more black.

A spark of amusement shined in her eyes as she stepped over Percy's legs. “What about your dear sister, sweet brother?”

Nico glared at the girl. Jason pursed his lips, taking a step away from Nico. “Hey,” he said, throwing on a smile.

Medea eyed the blond before taking his hand. “I was just looking for you,” she said, pecking the blond on the lips. Nico crossed his arms and looked away. “It seems you had a fly in the room.” She turned to smirk at Percy.

Nico's dark gaze fell upon Percy. The green-eyed boy felt the color drain from his face. The look Nico gave him could have made a murderer feel nervous. “How long have you been there?”

Percy gulped. “I, uh-not long.”

Medea patted Nico's cheek. “Don't tell me you're losing your touch, brother.”

The brother tossed his sister a venomous look. And by some chance Percy did not think would have been possible, the smile was wiped from Medea's lips. She huffed and hooped her arm through Jason's. Nico turned back to Percy. “Don't spy on me.”

“I wasn't. I just,” Percy motioned to his clothes, “wanted to clean up.”

The tall blond moved forward and held his hand up. “You must be the new kid we've been hearing about.” Percy took the hand and was yanked to his feet, though the blond did not release his hand. “The name's Jason. Jason Grace. I think you met my sister, Thalia, the other day.”

Percy shook the blond's hand. “Percy Jackson. And, yeah, I sort of hung out with her the other day.”

Jason chuckled. “Yeah, don't expect much from my sister when it comes to manual labor.”

Medea rolled her eyes. “Come on, sweetie.” She grabbed the blond's arm and dragged him out the door, waving to Nico as he went.

Percy's green eyes fell on Nico again, who was still glaring at him. The exhaustion seemed to have lifted from the boy's gaze, though it was now replaced with that of anger. Nico stepped forward, walking by Percy, but stopped beside the green-eyed boy.

“Forget what you heard, or I'll make you rethink trying to befriend us.”

And with that, Nico disappeared from the bathroom. Percy, for his part, glanced up from admiring Nico's backside as he left. One good thing about the boy's clothing: the jeans were tight. Percy chuckled and grabbed a paper towel, running it under some water.

He was going to assume Nico was just being defensive, like Annabeth had said yesterday. That was part of the reason Percy did not really find that threat intimidating. He looked down at his shirt and began wiping it clean of any remaining trace of flour.

Once he was done, Percy pulled out his phone and cursed. He was going to be late for class. Grabbing his backpack from the floor, Percy ran out the door and dashed down the hall. The raven-haired boy took the stairs down as quickly as possible, stumbling at the bottom. Percy let out a yelp as he fell forward, only to be caught by a boy with brown curls.

“Whoa, brother, slow down,” came the boy's mellow voice. Percy blinked as he stood up straight. The boy was roughly the same height as him, perhaps an inch or two shorter. Light brown eyes shined back at Percy, twinkling with amusement. A wispy beard covered on the brunet's chin. The boy took a step back. “Don't believe I've seen you around before, so you must be the new kid.”

“Um, yeah.” Percy adjusted his backpack, which was threatening to fall off his shoulder. “Percy Jackson.”

The brunet took his hand with a smile, shaking it wildly. “Grover Underwood.”

Percy's eyes widened slightly. This was the boy Kinzie and her friends had talked about yesterday at lunch. “Uh, thanks. I'd have looked like an idiot if I had fallen on my face.”

Grover clapped him on the arm. “Don't mention it, man.” With a quick smile, the brunet jogged up the stairs.

Percy turned to watch him go, his brows furrowed. For some reason, he had expected something different when meeting this guy. The way the others had talked about it, he figured Grover would have been depressed, or something. He definitely did not picture Grover being the image of calm and happiness.

Percy's next class was Woodshop, which was as boring as it sounded. But he really did not have much of a choice, considering he had already taken most of the curriculum that was offered at this school. There was one thing Percy found himself interested in getting to class for, though. There were two kids from the shunned families in there.

Leo Valdez and Charles Beckendorf. Percy had learned their names when attendance was taken yesterday, but had not had a chance to speak to them as of yet. Percy briskly walked into the classroom as the bell went off, earning him a pointed look from the teacher.

“Cutting it close there, Mr. Jackson,” the teacher, a man named Tantalus, muttered as Percy took his seat. He gave the room a pointed look to silence the snickering.

The man was very odd looking, in Percy's opinion. He was very thin and tall, hunching slightly. His hair was grey and shooting in every direction imaginable. He also seemed to always have dirt under his nails and bad breath. But what stood out the most was the man's taste in shirts. Today's choice was a bright orange polo.

Tantalus reached down, still eying the class, to pick up a plastic cup. “All right, today, children,” he began in a slightly mocking tone, “we're going to-shit!”

The class busted out laughing as the man dropped his cup, quickly having taken notice that it was leaking on him. The man narrowed his eyes as he bent down to pick up the cup. Percy had to cover his mouth to hide his laughter upon noticing the small hole that had been made in the red plastic cup.

“Who is responsible for this?” The man yelled. No one answered. The man rubbed his head as he dropped the cup in the garbage. “I knew I shouldn't have left that on my desk when I had to go make a phone call. You two,” he pointed to Charles and Leo, “where are your hooligan friends?”

“In class, I would imagine,” Leo responded, smirking cockily. “Perhaps they did it from their history class.”

“Don't mock me, Valdez.”

Charles elbowed the smaller boy. “Sorry, sir. I'm sure it wasn't them.”

Tantalus growled, pinching the bridge of his nose. “No matter, let's just get on with class.” He grabbed a roll of paper towels from his desk and used it to clean up the water. “Stupid kids,” he muttered before clearing his throat. “Today, I want to assign your first project. You're going to be making art, wondrous art. I want to marvel upon the beauty of your work. Now, we're going to do something different. This year, I want you to make...a bird house.”

“Don't you always assign that?” One student asked.

“No talking in my class!” Tantalus narrowed his eyes, drawing his hands to his chest like some rat. “You'll make a damned bird house and you'll like it!” Seeing the smirks on the class's face, he rolled his eyes. “Fine, we'll do something different. It'll be a group project. Three to a group, and you can pick your partners.” The man took a brief pause, eying the class. “Battle to the death!”

The teenagers hesitated a moment before quietly getting up and going to talk to one another. To say Tantalus looked disappointed by the lack of aggression might have been an understatement. Percy blew out a breath as he watched the man, finding the urge to laugh. The man was interesting, to say the least.

He really was not sure if he should been surprised or not, but one of the students came over to him. An Asian boy with glossy black hair and a slim, wiry build stood to the side of him. His clothes, which were slightly too big for him, hung loosely from his body, he even had to wear a belt to keep his pants from falling off. When Percy glanced up, he was met by a brown eye and an eye patch.

The guy smiled at Percy as he held out his hand. “Hey, the name's Ethan. You want to be in my group?” He glanced up, casting a dark look over to Leo and Charles. “I would hate for you to have to be left with no options, so I just thought I'd offer you some assistance.”

“Um.” Percy closed his mouth. Furrowing his brow, he blew out a breath. He was at a loss for words. Even though he knew what his choice in all of this was going to be, he did not really want to be rude either. That would just make him like everyone else in this town. “No thanks, I'm fine.”

Ethan eyed him for a second, looking at Percy like he was crazy. “You sure? You know they're-”

“Witches?” Percy nodded. “That's what I keep hearing. Not really scared, though, to be honest.” Percy tossed the guy a smile and clapped him on the shoulder as he stood up. “Thanks for the offer, though.”

Ethan nodded with his mouth open. Percy chuckled to himself as he strolled over to where Leo and Charles sat. They froze when he sat down across from them, looking at each other in disbelief. Leo's mouth floundered a few times.

Charles cleared his throat. “You, uh, actually want to be our partner?”

Percy nodded his head. “Yeah,” he replied, like it was the most normal thing in the world. “If that's okay with you guys.”

Charles turned to Leo, who still had his wide eyes trained on Percy. “Dude, we've never had a partner before.” A grin finally broke out across the Latino boy's lips. “Welcome aboard!”

“Shhh!” Tantalus glared at them from his desk.

Leo shot up from his chair, grabbing Percy's hand and shaking it energetically. “So, I'm Leo, and this is my brother, Charles.”

“Beckendorf,” Charles said with a nod. “I just prefer Beckendorf.”

“Okay.” Percy nodded. “Wait,” Percy's brow furrowed, “you're brothers? But you have different last names.”

Beckendorf nodded with a small chuckle. “Yeah, we also have a brother with the last name Mason. Our dad's remarried a few times.”

“Yeah, you should meet Silena's mom.” Leo received a quick punch to the shoulder for that comment.

“Silena?” Percy asked. Luke had mentioned that name.

Leo rubbed his arm with a frown. “Charles's girlfriend, and the only one of her siblings to carry her mother's name.”

“She has a lot then.”

“Oh yeah, her mom's-” Leo shut his mouth upon receiving a dark look from Beckendorf. “Um, so, Luke mentioned you.”

Beckendorf relaxed, resting his large arms on the table. He was massive, that much could be said. He looked like a mountain, and made even Percy feel small. The guy's arms were almost as big as Percy's torso. His skin was a dark ebony, much darker than that of Hazel's. The dude's hands had to be the size of a baseball mitt.

Leo glanced at Beckendorf from the corner of his eye. He, on the other hand, was relatively small compared to his brother. A lot more hair sat on his head, too. Black curls sat above the boy's elfish looking face. His body reminded Percy of Nico, though with a darker skin tone and a hint of more muscle on him.

Percy cleared his throat. “I get the feeling that Luke talks about me a lot.”

Leo grinned. “Just mentioned you.” The boy shrugged. “You're sort of an interesting topic. It's not every day that we have someone willing to socialize with the likes of us.” He motioned between himself and Beckendorf. “Didn't really think he was serious with it all, though.”

“What all has he said about me?”

“That you don't carry a Bible.” Beckendorf let out a bellowing laugh. “And that's pretty much all I need to know. I'd assume you're not racist and a bigot, unlike most people in this town.”

Percy smirked at the two of them. “Well, I'd hope that's not all that's required of me to be friends with all of you.”

Leo leaned back in his chair, scrunching his lips. “Some of us can be a bit of an acquired taste. Like Drew and Medea.” His eyebrows rose, glancing off to the side. “Nico doesn't seem that fond of you, he's sort of cautious about what angle you're working.”

The green-eyed boy shook his head. “I just think all of this is stupid.” He chuckled. “I mean, it's like I stepped into an old Salem, where the villagers were trying to burn you at the stake.”

“Funny,” Leo chuckled nervously. He tossed Beckendorf a quick look. Beckendorf just waved him off. “So, Percy, Luke's talking about having you hangout with us.”

“It has to be discussed?”

“Just making sure everyone's on their best behavior.” Beckendorf shrugged. “Luke's brothers are usually up to no good,” the large boy nodded towards the teacher's desk, “if you can't tell by their prank.”

“The twins are awesome,” Leo chuckled. “Last year, at prom, they had me build-”

Beckendorf placed his hand over Leo's mouth. “He gets a little excited when he drinks coffee.” He ruffled the smaller boy's hair as he removed his hand. “But, yeah, it'll probably be a small group, just to get you used to us. There are quite a few of us, and we wouldn't want you getting overwhelmed.”

Percy nodded as he stared back at Beckendorf. One thing he was noticing about these kids: none of them really spoke with an accent. Small hints in a few of the ones Percy had talked to, but nowhere near as potent as with the other people in the town. It made him wonder.

As the time ticked on in the class, the trio got to work on delegating assignments. It quickly became apparent to Percy that his two partners knew what they were doing when it came to craftsmanship. So, for most of the discussion, he simply nodded and agreed to do any part that was given to him. For the most part, it sounded like an easy A.

Percy nearly jumped out of his skin when he exited the class after the bell rang. His eyebrows rose as he came face to face with Nico, looking like death. The look of exhaustion had returned to the boy, who slouched as he stood in the hall. A bored look sat on his face as he met Percy's eyes. “Must I run into you everywhere?”

“Gives me a chance to grow on you.” Percy smirked, receiving a glare from Nico. “Maybe I should worry about being followed home.”

“Oh no, wouldn't want that. I might turn you into a toad while you sleep.”

“Can I be a sexy toad?”

Nico's eyes widened slightly, a faint blush coming to his cheeks. Leo came from behind Percy, laughing. “Wow, it seems your intimidation thing isn't working on him, Neeks.”

The pale boy ran his tongue along his teeth as he looked Percy over. “I came here for Leo,” he said, holding Percy's gaze. With a click of his tongue, he looked to the Latino boy. Beckendorf patted Percy on the shoulder as he passed. “You mind if I borrow your brother?”

Beckendorf looked between Nico and Leo before shrugging. “Knock yourself out.”

“What's up?” Leo asked. Nico just nodded his head down the hall. Leo smirked. “C'mon, dude, would it kill you to smile?”

Nico turned his head to glare at the Latino boy as they walked off. “Just leave me alone,” he said exasperatedly. “I'm not in the mood to joke.” Slipping his hands into the pockets of his aviator jacket, Nico disappeared into the crowd of students with Leo.

Percy frowned and scratched his chest as he headed towards the back stairs. English was his next class, yet again containing two of Luke's bunch of friends. Thalia happened to be one of them, while the other girl seemed to talk the raven-haired girl's ear off. Rachel was her name, or so Percy had gathered when attendance had been taken yesterday.

She seemed to zone out a lot, doodling in her notebook, which was exactly what she was doing when Percy entered the room. Thalia nodded at him as he walked towards the desks. But, instead of sitting where he had the day before, Percy changed course to sit in front of Rachel.

The girl raised a hand to wave in acknowledgment, not even bothering to look up. It seemed her notebook was not the only thing the girl doodled on, judging by the appearance of her arms and jeans. A golden bangle rested on her right arm, a scepter engraved in its metal and two small peacock feather fragments hanging from its sides. She was tall and thin, her frizzy red hair resting on her shoulders.

“Wow,” Thalia said, blinking at Percy. The green-eyed boy turned to face her. “The others were right, you are committing suicide today.”

Percy smirked. “Just enjoying myself. You guys seem like decent people to me.”

A spark of amusement resonated in Thalia's blue eyes. “You hear that, Rachel? We're decent people.” The girl laughed, crossing her arms on her desk.

Percy turned his head as the red haired girl looked up, meeting him with a pair of intense green eyes. The girl's brow furrowed as she looked him over. “Oh thank god,” the girl breathed out. Percy and Thalia looked at her strangely. Rachel shut her mouth, her brow furrowing again. “Um, I mean, you're the boy Luke was talking about, right?”

Percy quirked a brow. He turned to Thalia, who had an eyebrow raised and her mouth was hanging slightly ajar. The boy tilted his head to the side. “Yeah, that's me.” It was apparent that Thalia did not believe the girl either, and they had known each other longer.

“Rachel?”

The girl in question was studying Percy's face again. “Nice to meet you.”

The boy nodded in response. The girl was strange. She stared at him as if she was questioning his presence there. He was afraid she might reach out and pinch him.

“Hey, freaks,” Kelli sneered as she walked past their desks, Dylan in tow. Thalia turned to stick her tongue out and flip Kelli off.

“Girls.” Everyone fell quiet as the teacher entered, frowning at them. “Do I need to reiterate my rules for the class?”

“No, ma'am,” Thalia and Kelli answered.

The woman's mousy brown hair fell over her shoulders like curtains, shining faintly in the light. Her warm, dark brown eyes reminded Percy of a warm fire, cozy and inviting. She wore a freshly pressed blouse with a brown skirt that came up to her knees, a pair of flats resting on her feet. She raised a well-manicured finger.

“There will be no intolerance in my classroom.” Her eyes flickered to Thalia when the girl snickered. “Nor will there be any rude gestures tossed around in here.” She took in a deep breath, making the inward motion with her hands. “This is a peaceful environment, and I will not see this course soiled by what goes on between the community.”

“Yes, Mrs. Hestia,” the class responded.

“Good, now-” The door opened, Hestia turning to look. Grover walked in, looking sheepish. Hestia let out a sigh. “How nice of you to join us, Mr. Underwood. I trust you have an excuse for missing my class yesterday?”

Grover cleared his throat, handing the teacher a slip of paper. “Sorry, ma'am, I was still visiting family.”

Hestia sighed and nodded her head, handing the slip back to the brunet. “Very well,” she motioned to the desk, “feel free to take a seat wherever you deem fitting.” Walking over to her desk, Hestia picked up a book. “Now then, if you'll all turn to page four, we'll begin our first lesson for the semester.”

\----------------------------------------------

By the end of the day, Percy found himself disliking surprises. After he was done with his last day of tryouts, he had headed back to the locker room to change back into his regular clothes before the team list was posted. The problem was that he ended up on his back as soon as he opened the door.

He groaned and moved to sit up, finding two pairs of hands resting on his back to help get him to his feet. “Whoa there,” came one voice.

“You came out of nowhere,” laughed a second.

Percy shook his head. He must have hit his head harder than he thought, because he was seeing double. Two boys with brown, curly hair stood in front of him, both with the same mischievous grin plastered on their faces. They were both on the skinny side, their jeans fitting perfectly to their waists. Their blue eyes widened upon hearing the sound of a small explosion behind them.

“Stolls!” Came a yell from inside the locker room.

“Got to go,” they said simultaneously.

“Wait!” Percy yelled after them as they dashed towards the parking lot. But they were gone, heading straight for a new, very expensive looking silver mustang. There was something about them, Percy thought, something that seemed familiar. He just could not quite place it. Something about their grins.

The coach, a short man by the name of Gleeson Hedge, came barreling out of the locker room, wiping whip cream from his face. “Did you see two hooligans run through here, Jackson?”

Percy's mouth floundered as he looked between the man and the direction the boys had run. When Percy did not respond, Hedge waved him off and went back inside. A smirk spread across the boy's lips as soon as the door was closed, soon followed by uncontrollable laughter. His aunt and ex-boyfriend hated it, but Percy had always been the mischievous sort. Something he got from his dad, according to his aunt.

His laughter stopped when he looked down to notice himself scratching his chest. He let out a sigh, silently cursing himself as he pushed open the door. He opened the locker that was assigned to him for the time being. He just hoped the list that was about to be posted would keep it his locker.

After changing, Percy walked out of the building. The other guys that had tried out for the team had gathered around the dugout. Percy felt his breath hitch. Well, this was it, he thought. And it really was no surprise to him when some of the kids parted to let him through. With the amount of suicide he had done today it was bound to happen. Kinzie had not been pleased with him at all when they had eaten lunch. But had that stopped him?

No, and he had no intention of backing down from his decision.

Dylan, who had also tried out for the team, clapped him on the shoulder when he reached the front. “Congratulations, buddy, looks like you made it.” He lightly punched Percy's shoulder. “Now you won't have to hangout with those creepy kids, since everybody loves the people that play sports.”

Even though Dylan had said it, Percy still looked to make sure. And there his name was, plain as day. He smiled to himself. “I guess I'll be seeing you around then.” He received a pat on the arm from Dylan. Percy's brow furrowed as the dark haired boy strutted off.

The kids in the town did not seem all that bad, at least when Luke and the others were not involved. But the intolerance sort of soured their presence for Percy. He was sort of hoping that this little endeavor of his would show everyone that these kids were not to be feared and persecuted.

Having had enough school for the day, Percy readjusted the strap on his backpack and headed towards the parking lot. At least he had made the team-that was some good news. His brow furrowed as his phone began to vibrate.

It was a text from his aunt.

Furniture waiting for you at your apartment.

Great, he thought, she had given up on trusting him to do it. Which, in all honesty, was probably for the best, considering it seemed to be the last thing on his mind. Percy tossed his backpack into his car and climbed in, cranking the car and pulling out of his parking spot.

Sure enough, when he got home, he found a truck sitting outside his apartment building. Two men stood beside it, one of the scribbling on a clipboard. The other one looked up when he climbed out of his car. “You Percy Jackson?”

He nodded. “Yes, sir, that's me.”

The man with the clipboard looked up with a smile. “Seems your aunt was worried about you, called us and said you had probably forgotten to rent some furniture.” The man tipped his hat back as he walked towards the back. “I was a bit surprised when she said you were living out here on your own, what with you being young and all.”

Percy peered into the truck. A bed, couch, some chairs, a coffee table, a dresser, and other pieces of furniture had been loaded inside. “I'm just out here looking for some family.”

The two men looked at each other. “Extended family?” The shorter of the two asked.

Percy shook his head. “Don't think so.” He rubbed his arm. “Not really sure. It's just some of my dad's family.”

The man with the clipboard blew out a breath. “No one that I can think of in town has any out of state relatives.” The guy took off his cap and scratched his head. “And you're from California?” Percy nodded. “Nope, nobody that I can think of.”

Percy nodded his head in understanding. He supposed it was not going to be easy. How did his aunt even know his family was still here? In all honesty, he was a little relieved. If he did not find anyone, maybe his aunt would let him come home. After seeing this town, he had no desire to stay. Sure it was peaceful and quiet, but the people sort of ruined it with their prejudice against those families.

Percy opened his apartment and let the men do their job. He offered to help, but they declined, saying it would not be “hospitable of them”. He walked into the area that was his kitchen while they were outside and pulled two glasses from the cabinet. He ran them both under some cold water and grabbed some ice from the fridge.

“At least let me give you something to drink.” He glanced past them. “It's really humid outside.”

The two men chuckled, having deposited his couch. The man without the cap wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. “You get used to it after a while.”

Percy did not see how. It was like a furnace outside. But they took the iced water and drank it happily. The man with the cap sat his down and studied Percy. “Jackson, wasn't it?” Percy nodded. “No, I know for a fact there aren't any Jacksons around here.”

Percy wanted to curse himself. “You're sure?” Both men nodded. “Oh,” Percy said dejectedly, “well thanks for telling me.”

While the men unloaded Percy's new furniture, Percy sat himself down at the kitchen island and got to work on some of his homework. He glanced at his phone from time to time. What he really wanted to do was call his aunt, telling her what he had just learned, but he didn't. His aunt was a smart woman and she would not have sent him out here unless she had her facts straight.

Over an hour later, Percy closed the door upon the movers' departure. He sighed and leaned against the door. His shoulders were sore and his entire body felt exhausted. He had given it his all at tryouts today, and now his body was suffering the consequences.

He groaned as he glanced at the kitchen. Percy really did not feel like cooking. He dragged his feet towards the fridge, only to stop.

The boy let out another groan and hung his head at the sound of a knock at his door. Percy blew his lips and turned around, running his fingers through his hair. Who could that be? Opening the door, Percy fought every urge to slam the door shut.

Mrs. Dodds stood there, with several plastic containers filled with food all stacked on a large metal plate. “I'm sorry to intrude like this, Perseus, but your landlady informed us at church that you were living here by yourself.” She held up the food. “May I come in?”

Before Percy could answer, his stomach growled at the smell of food. “Um, I guess.”

Mrs. Dodds moved past him and sat the food down. She then tasked herself with sorting the containers and placing them properly around the kitchen island. “And, well, after hearing about your mother, I just couldn't stand by and let you starve.”

“Oh.” Percy blinked a few times. He had to remind himself that these people were not all bad. They could be ignorant about things, but they were still nice at heart. For the most part. “Thank you.” His face paled. “Wait, is this going to become a thing?”

“What's that, sugar?”

The boy cleared his throat, gesturing to the food. “I just...didn't think people would actually take the time to...make...food...for me.” He realized that, by the end of his sentence, his statement had sounded more like a question, rather than a statement. “I mean-”

Mrs. Dodds waved him off. “Oh think nothing of it, sweetie. The ladies at church don't mind taking care of a handsome young man such as yourself.” She picked up the metal plate she had used to carry her mountain of food containers in and placed it against her stomach. “Now then, if you need anything else, just call this number,” she said, handing Percy a card.

Percy slowly nodded his head, slipping the card into his pocket. “Thank you.”

The woman moved towards the door, clearing her throat. “Now, as you know, Percy, we had a murder occur here just a few days ago. So, you need to make sure your doors are locked every night, and make sure you say your prayers.” She raised a finger. “It was those families, I tell you that now. I know, I know it was them. You need to stay away from them, or they might put a curse on you.”

And there it was, the reason he kept getting annoyed with these people. Sure they could be nice, but that did not stop them from being hateful as well. How the Christian religion could have gotten so convoluted was beyond him. Last he recalled, Jesus preached about love and acceptance, not burning sinners and outcasts at the stake.

“Not that I mean to offend,” Percy began, “but what have they exactly done to warrant all of this persecution?”

That seemed to be the wrong thing to ask. “What have they done? What haven't they done? They are devils, all of them. Drownings, accidents, illness, people going missing; you name it, and it's happened here.” The woman flung her arms in the air. “If you do anything wrong to them, you end up getting cursed. Anyone who has severely attacked them has had something happen to them. Don't you consider that a little strange?”

“But people seem to constantly treat them badly.”

“Through the protection of the Lord, we might be spared from evil's touch.” Percy was not surprised when the woman pulled out a pocket Bible from her purse. She gave him a stern look before placing it in his hand. “You should read this every night, son, it'll help ward them off. The Lord's faithful will prevail in the war against evil.”

Percy stared down at the book as the crazy woman closed his door. But before he could even put it down, there was another knock at his door. He sighed, figuring it was Mrs. Dodds again, and opened it.

“Hey there, Percy!” Luke grinned at him, leaning against the doorframe. He tossed his thumb over his shoulder. “Looks you had a visit from the town's crazy old bat.” His lips tilted up more. “We had to sneak up here, so she wouldn't try tossing holy water on us.”

Stepping aside, Luke revealed the very two boys that Percy had gotten trampled by after tryouts. The only difference in their appearance was the shirts they wore. The one on the left wore a light blue T-shirt, while the duplicate wore a green one. And both of them were carrying food.

Luke stepped around Percy. “So, the twins' mom decided to cook you something to eat, if you want it.”

The identical boys stepped forward with matching grins to the one Luke wore. Glancing between the three of them, it clicked in the green-eyed boy's mind where he had seen those grins in the first place. These were the twins he had heard about on his very first day in town.

“Um,” Percy motioned to the kitchen area, “I guess find a place to put it over there.”

The boy in green sat his plate down next to the stove before poking around what Mrs. Dodds had brought. “Looks like Mrs. Dodds beat us to it, Luke.”

The tall blond blew his lips. “Figures.” He looked at Percy with a wag of his brow. “The church ladies around here are relentless. I did try to tell you.”

Percy let out a groan. “You did, I just didn't think you were being serious.” He glanced at the food. “Is this the end of it?”

“Nope,” replied the boy in blue.

“Ah.” Luke motioned to the twins. “I guess I forgot to introduce you to the troublemakers of the family.”

Both boys rolled their eyes simultaneously. The one in green slung his arm around his clone. “You're one to talk.” He grinned over at Percy. “Plus we already ran into, Percy.”

The other twin snickered. “Literally.”

Luke shook his head. “Travis and Connor, the twins and youngest of my dad's brood.” He tossed his thumb over to them. “Travis is the one in green and is the ringleader of their stunts. Connor is the one in blue. He's got a way with words and will talk you out of your socks.”

“Pleased to meet you,” the twins said together. Percy glanced over at Luke, who chuckled. They both offered Percy their right hand to shake.

When he glanced down to shake their hands, his brow furrowed. Around their wrists were matching hemp bracelets. There were several other bands around their wrists, but these stood out because of the large brown beads that rested in the center. White symbols were etched across both of the beads, but a distinct image of a caduceus rested in the very center.

“Nice to meet you,” Percy said quietly, releasing Connor's hand. He tried to not let his eyes linger on the jewelry, not wanting to be caught staring, but something else caught his attention when Connor let his hand drop to his side.

All of the bracelets fell towards the boy's hand, revealing a very disturbing image of a carved cross on the boy's lightly tanned wrist. Percy's brow furrowed as he stared down at it.

Connor placed his arm behind his back, grabbing it with the other one. He was looking down when Percy shifted his gaze to look the brunet in the face. Travis had his lips pressed into a thin line, reaching up to rub his brother's back.

Percy turned to Luke. “What happened to him?”

The blond now wore a solemn expression. “Exactly what you probably think happened.” His eyes flickered over to his brothers. “Go wait in the car, I'll be down in a second.”

Travis leaned in and whispered something to Connor before leading the other brunet out of the apartment. Luke crossed his arms, watching the two leave from the corner of his eye. Once the door was closed, he let out a sigh.

“It happened over the summer. Thalia and Bianca found him in a ditch, not far from where we live, shortly after the sun had gone down.” The blond ran his fingers through his hair with another sigh. “It looked a lot worse when we got him inside, there was a lot of blood. Dad was scared that they might have cut too deep.” Luke looked down, his eyes becoming unfocused. “They want to call us monsters, but you can see what they do. Hazel and Beckendorf, their families even got racial slurs before they married into our families.

“Connor said it was a bunch of guys on the football team.” The blond clenched his fists. “I wanted to beat them until their mothers could no longer recognize them.” There was a dark look in the blond's blue eyes when he looked up at Percy. “These are the people you sit with at lunch, these are the people who are trying to befriend you, trying to keep you from getting corrupted.”

“Why didn't you?” Luke's brow furrowed at Percy's question. “What stopped you from going after them?”

Luke ran his tongue across his teeth, nodding his head. “Nico.” He raked his fingers through his hair with another nod. “Nico stopped me. His sister got angry because of that, saying that they didn't deserve the mercy.” He placed his hand on his chest. “I still stormed out of my house that night, ready to go hunt them down. But before I even started my car, I stopped myself. I told myself that if Nico could look past what they had done, then so could I.”

Percy's brow furrowed. “Why? What happened to him?”

Luke scraped his foot against the floor, cursing under his breath. “Nothing,” he whispered. He wiped a hang across his mouth. “Nothing, it's nothing. Just know that some messed up shit has gone on in this town. Quite frankly, I feel sorry for you. Because, chances are, whatever family you are here to look for, they are probably the same as everyone else in this town.”

The green-eyed boy shook his head. “Doesn't really seem to matter. I've been informed there isn't anyone in town with the last name Jackson.”

Luke nodded. “Didn't really want to disappoint you on your first day.” A small smirk threatened to appear on his lips. “Don't really like being the bearer of bad news.”

Percy eyed Luke for a moment. “Mrs. Dodds said similar stuff about you and the rest of your families. Is any of that true?” The boy raised a brow. “People going missing? Drownings? Odd occurrences?”

Luke chuckled dryly, staring down at his shoes. “The people around here are paranoid, Percy, and just looking for someone to blame.” He looked up, his eyes no longer carrying that warmth they usually did. “Who are you going to believe, the Bible carrying witch-mongers?” He motioned towards the door. “There's evidence for you to actually see. My family and I didn't go looking for hate or to cause trouble.”

“I'm sorry.” Percy shook his head. “I didn't mean for it to come across like I was siding with them.”

Luke blew out a breath, placing his hands on the back of his neck. “Don't worry about it. It just gets stressful sometimes, trying to keep them all looked after. After Connor, we're doing our best to prevent something like that from happening again. It's why you'll usually see more than one of us around at a time.”

“What about Nico? He's by himself in Home Ec.”

“That was his decision.” Luke groaned and rubbed his neck. “He was taking something else, but when I signed up for the same course, he swapped at the last moment. That boy doesn't really like depending on others for help.” He smiled. “And I think that's a problem he has with you. According to him, you're 'acting a little too concerned'.”

“You seem to really care about him,” Percy pointed out.

The blond chuckled. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. Well, like I said, we've known each other since we were born. I'd do anything for him.” He glanced Percy over, studying the boy in front of him. It made Percy uncomfortable, for whatever reason. There was just something unspoken, uncertain, in the way Luke looked at him.

Percy cleared his throat. “So, could we hang this weekend?”

Luke's smile returned. “Yeah, that would probably be a good idea. I think a lot of us could use a day to relax. After what happened on Sunday, everyone has been a little on edge.” He scratched his cheek. “Um, how about Saturday? We can go down to the river, or something?” Percy nodded. Luke backed towards the door. “Text me and we'll discuss the details.”

“Sounds good.”

Percy's smile dropped as soon as the door was closed. Connor's scar was still seared into his mind. This town was insane. The faster he got out of here, the better off he would be.


	4. Little Percy in Slumberland

Percy never dreamed, not really anyways. The only dream that ever stuck with him was the nightmare with his parents, and that was more of a jumbled flashback. He wiped a hand down his sweat-covered chest with a sigh. He had woken up with a start, his heart pounding in his chest. The problem was that he just could not remember what he had been dreaming about. Nothing. Not even a piece of it.

His eyes shot up from examining himself at the sound of a knock at his door. Throwing back the covers, Percy shot out of bed. Grabbing some pajama bottoms, he stumbled his way into the living room. He threw open the door to be greeted by the bright sun.

“Good morning, Percy!” Came Luke's voice from behind the glare of the morning's light. Percy groaned and shielded his eyes. “You don't look ready to go.”

Percy rubbed his face. “What time is it?” He mumbled.

Luke shrugged. “Around ten. You better hurry up, we've got to go meet the others.”

The raven-haired boy nodded. “Okay, just let me grab a quick shower and get dressed.” He studied Luke for a moment. “You can wait inside.”

Luke grinned, slipping a hand into his pocket. A pair of shades covered his eyes, while flip flops were on his feet. A sleeveless blue shirt covered his torso, hanging loosely from his frame. “I got some of the gang in my car. Do you care if they come up as well?”

Percy let out a yawn. “Yeah, sure, that's fine.” He headed towards his room. “I'll be ready in, like, fifteen minutes.”

After getting himself cleaned up in the shower, Percy returned to his living room, a towel over his shoulder, to find three new inhabitants. Travis and Connor were poking around his TV, inspecting his movies and games, mumbling to each other. Nico was with Luke, leaning against the blond.

Luke brushed some of Nico's black hair away from his face. “I told you that you should have slept longer,” he whispered to the raven-haired boy. “You didn't have to wake up when I did.”

“I wasn't tired.” Nico buried his face into the crook of Luke's neck. “And you're the one who woke me up when you tripped getting out of bed.”

“Maybe if you weren't all sprawled out, I wouldn't have had to work so hard to climb over you.” Luke's blue eyes glanced up to greet Percy. “All done?”

Nico quickly removed himself from Luke, shooting Percy a dark look. “Took you long enough.”

Percy shrugged, looking himself over. A light blue T-shirt rested on his torso, khaki shorts hung from his waist, and his wet hair hung into his eyes. “Gotta look good for you.”

Luke snorted, quickly receiving an elbow to the stomach from Nico. The brown-eyed boy narrowed his eyes in Percy's direction. “Cute,” he muttered dryly.

Percy smiled. “Thanks. I think I'm cute, too.”

The twins snickered in the corner. Nico shot them a glare that they missed. “I thought you didn't carry a Bible?” Percy blinked at him, cocking his head to the side. Nico reached behind him to pick up the Bible Mrs. Dodds had left him from the kitchen counter.

“Oh, that.” Percy shrugged. “Mrs. Dodds brought me food last night, and left that for me. Said it would ward off the witches.”

Nico stared down at the book like he wanted to set it on fire. Percy wondered if the boy had even heard him. With a dark look, Nico tossed it aside. “Yes, it burned my skin just holding it,” he mumbled sarcastically. “The devil in me is trembling in fear by its presence.”

“They tried dumping holy water on him last year,” Travis called from his spot.

The pale boy crossed his arms. “At school.”

Connor chuckled. “But their reaction when it didn't do anything was quite amusing.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Speak for yourself.”

Luke smiled and slipped an arm around Nico. He winked over at Percy. “Ready to go? The others will be at the river soon.” Percy nodded. “Cool.” He pulled out a set of keys and headed for the door. “You mind sitting in the back with the twins? Nico gets claustrophobic.”

“Does he need to know that?” Nico mumbled on his way out the door.

Percy gave Luke a lopsided smile, the two sharing a look. Percy locked his door. “Yeah, sure, doesn't bother me.”

The five of them made their way down to ground floor, where Luke unlocked an older looking silver car. Percy offered to be the one to sit in the middle, but the twins declined his offer and let him have the window seat behind Luke. Percy moved his hand from the seat, a tear in the leather irritating him. He frowned as he stared at the door. This had definitely not been the car he had seen picking up the twins yesterday.

Percy's eyes roamed up to the front. After cranking the car and pulling out, Luke reached over and grabbed Nico's hand. The raven-haired haired boy frowned and pulled his hand away. Luke chanced a glance over at the shorter boy, who was now staring out the window.

Percy cleared his throat. “So, with all this talk at school, I was sort of wondering: how many families are in your...?” Percy blew out a breath. He really did not know what to call them.

“Coven?” Connor grinned at him. Nico turned in his seat to glare at him. The brunet just held up his hands in a shrug. “What? It's what everyone in town calls us.”

Travis grinned mischievously at Percy. “A coven of witches, damning the poor, innocent town to hell.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Twelve. Twelve families.” His eyes met with Percy's green ones in the mirror. Our families have known each other for a very long time. So, with the rumors, people just started calling us a coven.” With his fingers, he started counting them off. “Grace, di Angelo, Castellan, Chase, La Rue, Beauregard, Nightshade, Beckendorf, Gardner, Solace, Dare, and Burgundy.”

Percy scrunched his lips. “Like the guy in that Anchorman movie?”

Luke cracked up at that. “No.” He cleared his throat. “I wouldn't try saying that to him or his kids, they don't like it when you make fun of their name.”

“Seems like it could be hard to identify which people belong to a family, considering some have different last names.”

“Ah.” Luke made a face. “Yeah, I guess. Our parents get some bad rep for that.” The blond smiled over at Nico. “But, for the most part, our parents just have to remarry. And the child will often just take the mother's last name instead, like the twins here.” The twins grinned at Percy.

Percy turned to face the window, watching as all the trees passed them by. “So, why all the remarrying? Like, you're not much older than the twins, right?”

Luke nodded. “Two years, and then Chris is only a year younger than me. Um,” Luke licked his lips, “it's just-”

“None of his business,” Nico interrupted. The boy stared darkly at Percy. “We get enough judgment from the town, we don't need more of it.”

“I-I wasn't.” Percy shook his head. “Trust me, I didn't mean it like that.” Nico studied him. “I swear.”

Luke rolled his eyes and elbowed Nico in the shoulder. “Be nice. I'm sure he didn't mean it like that.” Nico just grunted. “It's not a big deal, Percy. My dad was just lonely after what happened to my mom, so that's how Chris came to be.” He smacked Nico's arm. “I thought you were going to try being nice today.”

The boy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, turning to stare out the window. “Whatever,” Nico mumbled.

Luke smiled. “That's better.”

The town had fallen behind them a few miles back, and Luke had now turned onto a dirt road. Percy's eyes darted around the wooded area. There did not seem to be any houses nearby. “Are we leaving Aimes?”

Luke shook his head. “No, it's still technically in the town line. We're actually not far from where we live.” He pointed off to his right. “Just about two or three miles that way.” Percy glanced out the window again as they passed by a large field with an old, nearly collapsed, barn. “No one really comes out this way, probably because of us.”

Craning his neck, Percy could just barely make out the river off the car's right. The car slowed down and turned a small curve. A small clearing sat in front of them, a large tree rising from the ground where two cars were parked. Luke parked and turned off the car. The twins grinned at each other and jumped out of the car.

Percy got out and looked around. To his left sat a small field, the grass left uncut. The twins ran down a hill, towards the sound of running water. Luke wrapped an arm around Nico's shoulder and motioned for Percy to follow them.

“So you guys own all of this land?” Percy asked, turning to look at Luke as they walked. “Do you have like big southern houses? Big fields and all that?”

Luke chuckled. He cleared his throat, slipping his car keys into his pocket with the hand that wasn't around Nico. “Our houses aren't that impressive. Just typical houses, I guess.” He shrugged. “Our families were just some of the first settlers here, so we got a bunch of the land. And with all the rumors, no one really wants to live near us.”

When they arrived, six other kids were already waiting there. Percy recognized most of them, save for three. Nico's sister, Bianca, sat on the edge of the river, her feet dangling beneath the water. She smiled as Nico sat down beside her. Hazel sat on a blanket with a muscular Asian kid, smiling and laughing, which caused the boy to blush. Beckendorf was already in the river, swimming after a girl with long black hair.

All that was left was the Native American girl that the Stolls decided needed to get in the water by throwing her in. Luke sat down next to Nico and leaned forward to talk to Bianca.

Percy stood there awkwardly, until Beckendorf spotted him and waved at him. “Percy, man, come on and stop being unsociable.”

All eyes fell on Percy as he walked down the small hill. Luke was back on his feet in the next second and jogged up to Percy, putting an arm around the green-eyed boy. “Sorry, I almost forgot to introduce you to the rest of our company here.” He walked up to Hazel and the boy she was with first. “So, I think you ran into Hazel already.”

The girl held out her hand. “We had a run in on his first day.”

Percy smiled and shook her hand. “Sorry to hear about Thursday.”

Hazel frowned. On Thursday, the kids at school had thought it would be funny to recreate the movie Carrie by throwing pig's blood on the poor girl. A tall and beautiful woman with long black hair that curled like some princess out of a fairytale had come to pick her up. And, thanks to Chiron, the kids had been suspended for a week.

Luke rubbed the back of his neck. “And this is her boyfriend, Frank.”

The muscular kid stood up and eyed Percy over for a moment before a warm smile spread across his lips and he held out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Percy glanced down to take the kid's hand. He frowned as he shook it. A small gash ran across Frank's palm, looking rather unpleasant. “Percy Jackson.” His brow furrowed. “That looks like a pretty bad cut. Shouldn't you get it looked at?”

“Ah.” Frank retracted his hand and rubbed it. He shrugged. “I'll be all right.” The large kid smiled before looking down at his hand. “I wasn't really paying attention, and ended up cutting myself.”

Percy glanced from Frank's eyes to his hand. It did not look like a simple cut. But Percy kept his mouth shut, not wanting to butt into what could potentially be personal matters. Instead, he focused back on Hazel. “You okay?”

The girl nodded with a small smile. “Yeah, just took a few showers to get it all off.”

“Hazel here is actually Bianca, Medea, and Nico's cousin,” Luke said. Percy's eyebrows rose at that. “Nico's uncle married her mother.”

Hazel smiled again, drawing her legs up to her chest. “And they've been nice enough to take care of me after my momma's passing.”

“I'm sorry.” Percy scratched his cheek. “What happened to your dad?”

“He's the one who left me in the care of his brother.” The girl rested her chin on her knees as she stared up at Percy. “Hades said he had some business to look into.”

Percy glanced at Luke. “Hades?”

“Nico's father,” the blond replied. “It's where he gets his moody behavior.”

“I heard that!” Nico yelled over at them. Percy and Luke turned to find the boy glaring at them, his legs drawn up to his chest as he sat on the edge of the river.

Luke held his hand up to his mouth. “You were meant to!” He called back. The blond chuckled and shook his head. “Just as stubborn as the man, too.” Hazel laughed at that. “Let's see,” Luke tapped a finger to his lips, “next is Piper.”

The girl that the twins had tossed in had climbed out of the water and sat herself by Bianca. She had taken her top off, revealing a black and white bikini top. The girl was busy wringing her soaked shirt, glaring at the twins, when Luke and Percy walked up beside her.

Luke tapped her with his foot. The girl shook her wet hair before smiling up at the two of them. “You must be the new kid that Luke has talked so much about.” She stood up and held out her hand. “I'm Piper McLean.”

“Percy Jackson.” The tall boy glanced over, finding Nico watching them from the corner of his eye. A frown sat on the pale boy's lips. “And, yeah, I just moved here.”

“Sucks to be you, I guess. Not the best place to get shipped off to.”

“Aw, don't say that, Piper,” Luke grinned. “I'm sure this place would be paradise, if we weren't around.”

Piper brushed some of her hair out her face with a smile. “Don't listen to him, these people would find something to hate on, even without us.”

“And this,” Luke motioned down to Bianca, who was watching them in amusement, “is one of my favorite people in the world.”

Bianca stood up with a roll of her eyes. Piper sat down, but Percy noticed she scooted away from Nico. The pale boy was staring at the water, his bangs falling into his eyes. Bianca scoffed and put her hands on her hips. “Don't lie, Luke Castellan, we all know you favor my brother.”

Luke shrugged. “He is a good cuddler.”

Nico shot the blond a death glare. “I do not cuddle.”

Luke's eyes shined with mischief. “It's not nice to lie.”

“I will put you six feet under, Castellan.” Nico was about to get up to act on his threat, but Bianca motioned for him to sit back down, laughing. “Asshole.”

Bianca sighed, a smile still gracing her lips. “Don't mind them.” She placed a hand on her chest. “I'm Bianca di Angelo, Nico's sister, if you haven't figured that out by our similar appearances.” She shook Percy's hand. “I'm also the one who inherited our mother's good looks.”

Luke grinned down at her brother. “Aw, but Nicky looks cute.”

The tips of said boy's ears turned pink. “Are you saying I look like a girl, Castellan?”

Bianca waved him off. “No, you look like our father. And he is very handsome.” She winked at Percy. “Please excuse the children.”

“Um, I'm older that you,” Luke pointed out.

Bianca playfully shoved his shoulder. “Only by a few months, and I still act more mature than you.”

“Nico, your sister is being mean to me.”

Nico rolled his eyes and the blond grinned. “Just finish the introductions.”

“Oh yeah.” Luke whistled, drawing the attention of Beckendorf and the girl in the river. “Come here, you two.”

Swimming over, Beckendorf helped the girl with raven hair out of the water. She ran her fingers through it with the most endearing smile. She was tall and thin, with a pair of beautiful blue eyes. She seemed to radiate beauty, like flowers might actually start blooming as she walked by. Percy felt his face heat up.

Beckendorf took Percy's hand and shook it. “Nice of you to join us, man.” He tossed his thumb over his shoulder. “This is Silena, my girlfriend.”

She smiled, her teeth pure white. “Nice to meet you. Silena Beauregard.” She nodded towards Piper. “And I do claim to be her older sister.”

More family relations that shared different surnames. It did not bother Percy; it was just proving hard for him to keep up with. His brow furrowed as he pointed towards Silena. “And Drew's sister, yeah?”

The girl chuckled. “Yes, unfortunately. Tanaka would be her last name.”

The green-eyed boy scratched his head. “Why don't they just all take your dad's last name?”

“Actually,” Silena shifted her weight,” it's my mom's last name. I guess you could call us a matriarchal family.” She shrugged. “She's remarried a few times, and the town has now labeled her as the black widow.”

Percy arched a brow. “They think she killed her spouses.”

Silena opened her mouth a few times. Her eyes darted over to Luke before blowing out a breath. “Um, yeah, they think that. But my mom is happy, and I guess that's what matters.” She motioned to Piper. “Still married to Tristan, and she seems happy with the guy.” The girl laughed. “I guess that's a bit of information to take in, but I do know that the town likes to gossip about my dear mother.”

Silena was one of the few that Percy noticed who spoke with a hint of a southern accent. Not to be stereotypical, but he was not really surprised with a last name like Beauregard. He did feel a little bad for that thought. Percy reached up and scratched his chest. His eyes roamed around the river, until they landed on Nico.

The boy was studying him again. Percy's brow furrowed and he shifted his weight. Nico's eyes narrowed ever so slightly before he cast his eyes back to the water. And when Percy looked away, he found Bianca staring at him curiously. Her dark eyes glanced over to her brother before returning her gaze to Percy. But before she could say anything, Luke spoke up.

“Well I'm ready for some swimming.”

When the blond yanked his shirt off, Percy finally got a look at the necklace Luke kept hidden beneath his shirt. Like Nico's, it was circular and looked like it might fit into something. A turquoise stone sat in the center, the Castellan name scrawled inside it. The caduceus that was on the twins' bracelets was etched above the name. A silver snake wrapped around the top and bottom of the stone.

Luke did not jump in with it on, though. He sat it down on top of his shirt before diving head first into the water. Silena, Beckendorf, and Piper were not wearing any noticeable jewelry. Though, they might have already removed it. The twins had probably taken their bracelets off as well.

Hazel removed her ring and sat it on the blanket. Standing to her feet, she walked over to the edge before sliding beneath the water. Percy noted that Frank wore a similar necklace to Luke and Nico, another crest.

A bright citrine stone bore the name 'La Rue', a boar sitting above it. Two silver boar tusks held the stone in place from the sides. It hung from a silver chain from around the Asian boy's neck.

Bianca's jewelry was in the form of a necklace. This one, however, was not similar to that of her brother's. This one was slightly smaller, and bore no name inside the black stone that sat in its center. Silver wings spread out from both sides of the stone, sort of reminding Percy of the snitch from the Harry Potter series. In the center sat the same skull that was in the rest of her family's jewelry.

Percy stood there for a moment, while the others had already begun swimming in the river-save for Nico. The jewelry seemed important somehow. They all wore it, but some carried unique pieces. Matching pieces? What was the significance, though?

“Are you going to swim or just stand there?”

Percy blinked and focused on Nico. “Um, just thinking.”

Nico's brow furrowed. “Just don't hurt yourself too much.” He turned his attention back to the lake. “Judging us already?”

Percy stepped forward, coming to the edge of the river. He stared down at Nico. “No. I'm not working an angle, or whatever it is you might think I'm doing. Is it wrong for me to actually want to be friends with you guys?”

Nico's lips tilted down, though he chose not to look at Percy. “That's usually how it goes around here. There were a few that tried to be nice to us a couple of years back.” Nico paused and blew out a breath. His brown eyes finally returned to Percy, seeming brighter in the light of the sun. “But it turned out they just wanted to find some sort of evidence to prove the rumors about us. So, yeah, I'm a little skeptical.”

“I'm not like that.” Percy kicked his shoes off and sat down next to the boy, who regarded him carefully. “I'm not trying to mess with you guys. I really do feel bad for how the lot of you seem to be treated. I don't think you're weird.”

Nico chewed on his lip for a few seconds. His eyes turned to the others that were in the water. “We'll see if that lasts.”

Percy smiled at him. Nico glanced at him before scoffing and turning away. Percy chuckled and stood back up. Yanking his shirt over his head, he tossed it to the side. Nico's eyes darted back to Percy while he stretched his arms above his head.

Percy grinned. “See something you like? Feel free to stare.” Nico glared up at him. The green-eyed boy chuckled and sat back down on the bank. “Thanks for letting me tag along, though.”

Nico grunted, turning away from Percy. “Luke just felt sorry for you. I wasn't the one who suggested it.”

“It was still nice.”

Nico's brown eyes studied him from the side. “You're very...odd.”

Percy smiled. “You're one to talk, or so I hear.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Well what can I say about rumors? They have to have some truth to them, right?” The corner of the boy's lip tilted up in a mischievous smirk. “Besides, the doom and gloom factor gives me extra credit when it comes to warding off the devout Bible boy.” His eyes darkened. “Though, I suppose there is some satisfaction in turning some religious straight boy gay.”

Percy smirked. “You can turn me anytime.”

Nico pulled back and huffed. “You're no fun.” Percy shrugged. “How am I supposed to get you to leave me alone if you're not freaked out by this stuff?” The pale boy scrunched his lips. “I guess Luke was right about you being gay.”

Percy's eyebrows rose in surprise. “I'm not gay.”

Nico drew back in surprise. His forehead wrinkled. “What? But Luke said you had a boyfriend before.”

Percy nodded his head slowly. “Yes, but I like girls as well. I'm bisexual.”

“Oh.” Nico drew his legs up. “Well stop flirting with me.”

Percy smirked. “I'm not, just picking. You make it fun.” He shrugged. “I already get the feeling you're not interested.”

Nico rolled his eyes and stared off to where Luke was swimming with the others. “I'm sorry about not being able to find your family.” The corner of Nico's lips tilted down. “But maybe it's for the best. The people around here aren't your ideal family.” He glanced at Percy. “Are you sure it's your father's parents? Maybe it's your mother, and that's why they don't have your last name.”

Percy shook his head. “My aunt specifically said it was my father's family I was looking for. But I mean, it seems like a lot of kids in your families have different last names? Maybe mine-”

Nico shook his head. “Just our families, and I've never heard of any Jacksons.” He stared at Percy for a moment, a hard look in his eyes. “What happened to your parents anyways?”

Percy reached up and scratched his chest. “Gang violence.” Judging by the look on Nico's face, it was best if Percy continued with an explanation. He gave a lopsided smile, his heart sinking in his chest. “My parents had taken me out to celebrate my first win on the swim team. It was my freshman year, and I had been very excited about making the team, so my parents thought it best to take me out.” Brown and green met when Percy looked up from the water to look into Nico's eyes. “But we ended up crossing into some gang territory on the way to get some ice cream.”

Nico looked down, holding one of his knees just under his chin. “I'm sorry,” he whispered.

Percy shook his head. “It's okay. It just happened so fast. I just remember seeing this one guy smoking under a streetlight. The next thing I know, he pulls out a gun and shoots my dad.” Percy ran his tongue along the inside of his mouth. “My mom died before the cops and ambulance could get there. I don't remember any of it, though. I was just told reports. I had gotten shot as well and blacked out. The next thing I remember is waking up in the emergency room several hours later.” Percy's eyes seemed far off as he watched the river flowing past them. “Not the best way to start off high school,” he said with a strained laugh. He cleared his throat and looked back over to Nico.

Nico's brow furrowed as he stared at Percy. “I, uh...I'm sorry. Believe me, I know what it's like to have someone stolen from you.”

Percy and Nico stood up. He tilted his head to the side and scratched his cheek. “Oh yeah? So, like, is that why Luke stopped himself from going to punch those football kids?” Percy asked innocently. Nico stiffened. “I mean, I figure it had to be something big to influence him like that. Did something like that happen before? Or did someone die?”

Nico's eyes darkened. Percy's eyes widened, receiving a shove from Nico. Percy's arms flailed as he fell backwards, splashing into the water. He surfaced and spit out some water. He stared at the brown-eyed boy as he walked away.

“What did I do?”

\-------------------------------

Percy found himself sitting on a rock about an hour later. He had swum down the river a bit with Luke before turning around and walking back on the shoreline. It was so quiet out here, save for the sound of the river and the yelling of teenagers.

He liked to think himself an 'outdoors' type of guy, but he had never really spent time in nature. Today had been a little different. Nature could be evil, as it turned out. During his walk back, he and Luke had even encountered a pissed off squirrel, who apparently did not like their trespassing underneath its tree. Percy had received an acorn to the face for his crimes.

And, when he had gotten back in the river, the twins had decided to tell him that it was not uncommon for there to be poisonous snakes in the river. Not long after that, something had brushed against his leg in the water. And that was how Percy had ended up on top of his rock, glaring at the twins, who were laughing their heads off.

But, looking around, he could see the upside to living in a place like this. Part of him wondered why his father left this place to begin with. The waters, the outdoors, it seemed like the type of place his father would enjoy.

He wondered how different his life would have been if his parents had raised him here.

Would things have been different for him? Maybe his parents would still be alive. But he might have ended up like the rest of this town, a bigot that persecuted these families for being different. Not likely, Percy thought to himself. His parents had never really been the type to do that. But maybe that was why they left. Perhaps Percy's father did not agree with the rest of his family.

Percy's green eyes fell upon Nico, who had not once gotten in the water. The boy still sat on the shoreline, dipping his feet beneath the water. Percy frowned to himself as he watched the pale boy. He grunted and pulled his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them.

What was it that drew him to Nico in the first place? He had been paying the boy a lot of attention, and he could not really put his finger on why that was. There was just something about the di Angelo boy that made Percy want to be his friend. Nico seemed so isolated, so sad. It did not seem right to Percy that a boy like Nico should be this way.

Nico was defensive and guarded, with plenty of good reason. He could be cold as well, but Percy was starting to see the boy underneath. It just took the friends that Nico did have to see it.

Percy was drawn from his thoughts by a sweet sound to his ear, coming from a place he had not been expecting. Bianca shrieked and tossed a fish into the water. The twins cackled behind her, quickly receiving a glare from the girl. But it had been Nico's laughter that had drawn Percy's attention.

The boy laughed and smiled, watching his sister chase after Travis and Connor. The boy drew his legs up to his chest and calmed his laughter. But Nico kept smiling, and it was a nice sight to behold for Percy. He had been starting to think that Nico was incapable of such an action.

Luke plopped down next to Nico and offered him a Coke, which the boy declined. The blond reclined on his elbows, taking a quick drink himself. Percy suddenly felt like he was intruding. While they were out in the open, Percy was starting to think that there might have been some truth to the rumors about the two of them. They did seem a little closer than friends.

Nico did not seem as embarrassed with looking at Luke's body, like he had with Percy's own. He even placed a hand on Luke's bare stomach. The blond smiled and held his hand out towards Nico's face, where the pale boy reached out and intertwined their fingers. Nico frowned and narrowed his eyes at something Luke said.

Percy slipped back into the water and swam closer. Nico shook his head at something. Luke sighed and jumped to his feet before reaching down and yanking Nico up with him. By the time Percy reached the edge of the river, Luke had already taken Nico over to a basket of food that one of the other kids must have brought.

Percy pulled himself out of the water and reached for his towel, wiping it across his face. Luke held out a sandwich, which Nico seemed reluctant to take. “Nico, you need to eat something. I know you didn't eat breakfast.” Nico still did not take it. “If you're feeling light headed, you should eat something.”

“I'm not hungry,” Nico mumbled, almost to the point where Percy had to strain to hear.

Luke grabbed Nico's face with his free hand and made the boy look up at him. “What's going on, Nico?” The boy shook his head in response. “Nico.” Luke let out a sigh. “You were pretty insistent about sleeping over last night. I knew something was bothering you, I just didn't want to say anything.”

“Nothing's different.”

“I've known you since you were born, Nico,” Luke hissed. He grabbed Nico's wrist when the boy tried to move away. “You tell me everything, like I do you, you can tell me this. I do notice small changes in your behavior.”

“You're acting like me asking to sleep over, or not wanting to eat, is uncommon.” Nico yanked his arm free. “I've never kept what bothers me from you, you've known ever since it started happening.”

Luke held out the sandwich again, and Nico finally accepted it. The blond sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Yes but you've been getting worse. And after last weekend, I'm very concerned. What are they doing to do this to you?”

“Something's wrong, I just haven't figured out what.” Nico stared down at the sandwich that he had been given. “There's something wrong in-” Nico shivered. The boy's head darted towards the woods.

Luke followed Nico's gaze and frowned. “What?”

Without responding, Nico took off walking towards the border of the woods, Luke following after him. Percy craned his next to stare after them, debating on going to see what was wrong.

“Drink?”

Percy jolted around to find Bianca sitting beside him. She smiled at him and held out a Sprite. “Um,” Percy blinked a few times, “no thanks.” He frowned. “Everything all right?” He tossed his thumb over to where her brother and Luke had gone.

Bianca waved it off. “I'm sure everything is fine. Maybe Nico just heard something.” She opened the Sprite for herself. “You want anything at all? We have plenty of food and drinks.”

“I'm fine.” Percy smiled at her. He glanced over to where the two boys had disappeared into the woods a final time. “Is Nico all right?” Bianca cocked her head to the side. “It doesn't seem like he sleeps very much, and I've seen Luke try to get him to eat more twice now.”

Bianca sighed and took a sip of her drink. “He hasn't been the same since our mom passed. And on top of that...well, he just went through some changes around thirteen.” She offered a sad smile and a shrug. “Luke's been helping me look after him ever since mom died.”

Suddenly, Percy felt like an ass. He flinched and wanted to kick himself. He had been so stupid. They had just been talking about Percy's parents, and Percy had completely missed the signs that Nico had lost a parent as well. As if the fact that Nico had a stepmother might not have been a clue already.

“I'm sorry,” Percy whispered. “Must've been hard.”

The girl nodded. “Nico took it pretty harshly. It was getting close to his thirteenth birthday at the time, and in our family that's a pretty big age. So he was pretty depressed when his birthday finally came around.” She smiled. “I wouldn't go showing him pity, though. I know he can be sad to look at sometimes, but that doesn't make my brother weak. And he's too stubborn and proud to accept someone's pity or worry.”

Percy chuckled. “I'm just trying to be his friend, if he'll let me.”

Bianca observed him in silence. She placed her drink down before opening her mouth. “If that's all you're after.”

Percy blinked, not understanding what she meant at first. And then it hit him. The tips of his ears turned pink. “Oh! No, um, I just am interested in getting to know him is all.” Bianca arched a brow at him. “He just seemed lonely in class, and I just wanted to be his friend.” He cleared his throat. “My aunt says I inherited my mom's compassion for others, so I didn't really like seeing how others were treating him. And my dad's protectiveness.”

Bianca smiled warmly. “Yeah, he says you're trying to be 'some knight in shining armor', and that doesn't really fly with him. The last thing my brother wants is to be treated like a princess.”

Percy's brow furrowed as he watched the water ripples that his moving feet were causing. Why did she need to tell him that? Percy just wanted to be friends with Nico, not date. And even if he did, it seemed Luke already had the boy claimed. Nico did not seem like his type: resistant to affection, touch, and was probably as cold as ice when it came to being intimate. Not really the type of person Percy would be interested in dating.

Bianca's eyebrows rose as her phone went off. She reached behind her and grabbed her phone from where it lay in her bunched up shirt in the grass. “Yes, Papa?” The way she said it was more spaced out, popping her lips in the middle of the nickname. Her brow furrowed. “Okay, I'll let them know.” She sighed and closed her phone. “Percy, would you mind going to fetch my brother? Something's come up, and we need to get home.”

Percy nodded and jumped up, heading in the last direction he had seen Luke and Nico go. The trees were fairly spread out, yet close enough that they kept out most of the sunlight. Percy looked up at the sound of thunder. The storm had come in fast, he thought to himself. Grey clouds were closing in fast.

He found Nico leaning against a tree. Luke stood about four feet in front of him, arms crossed. Nico's eyes were narrowed. The shadow of the trees seemed to reach out and blanket him in darkness. A faint chill ran across Percy's nearly naked form. He wrapped his arms around himself and moved to step closer, ready to call out to the two boys, but Nico snapped first.

“Just leave me alone.” The boy glared at the blond in front of him, who was not really meeting Nico's gaze. “I don't care, I've had enough of this.”

“Nico, keep your voice down,” Luke hissed.

Nico's head slowly turned, like he was cracking his neck. The boy closed his eyes and shivered. “Fucking hell,” he said, barely above a whisper. Another chilly breeze hit Percy before Nico's head jerked towards him. Nico's eyes were so dark and piercing, like a knife. “What the hell are you doing out here?”

Luke cleared his throat and moved towards where Percy stood beside a tree. “Sorry about that, Percy, Nico and I were having a talk.” He glanced at the boy behind Nico. Nico was staring at the tree opposite him. “He's just a little cranky today. What's up?”

“Um,” Percy glanced over to Nico before returning his eyes to Luke, “Bianca wanted me to get you. Nico's dad called, said you all needed to come home.”

Luke and Nico looked at each other. Nico cursed under his breath and took off towards the river. Luke's normally happy face seemed serious all of a sudden. “I guess I need to get you home.” He scratched his head. “All right, let's get going.”

When they got back, everyone had gotten dressed. And, as predicted, Silena, Piper, and Beckendorf had their own pieces of jewelry. Piper was slipping on a golden bangle that had small amethysts around its center. On the bottom hung several charms: a dove, a seashell, and the Venus symbol.

Silena was putting in a pair of amethyst earrings, the same necklace that Frank, Luke, and Nico had hung from her neck. This too had an amethyst stone in it, the Beauregard name inscribed beneath it. A dove had been drawn above the name. The golden medallion itself had four prongs that went towards the center to hold the stone in place.

Beckendorf wore a similar necklace as well, his being made of what looked like iron. His surname had been written underneath a garnet stone. A hammer overlaying a fire had been drawn above the name. A black chain had been melded over the top and bottom of the garnet stone.

Nico was already climbing into a small black car. Luke grabbed the passenger door that the boy was about to close. “You're gonna head over already?” Nico nodded at him. “Are you still coming over tonight?”

“Yeah, I'll be there.”

Luke nodded. He tapped the door and closed it for Nico. Bianca smiled at him from the other side of the car's roof. “I'll tell your dad that you'll be there shortly,” she said.

“Thanks.” Luke gave her a nod. Hazel and Frank climbed into the back. The blond turned and headed towards where Percy was standing at his car. Luke fished the keys out of his pocket, waving at Beckendorf, Silena, and Piper as they drove off in the other car.

The twins were already seated in the back when Percy and Luke got in. Percy turned to the blond. “Everything okay?”

“Um, yeah,” Luke said softly. He cranked the car, looking unconvinced of his answer. “Just an issue over our families' cemetery plot.”

Percy's brow furrowed as he watched the wooded area pass by. How did Luke know there was an issue at a cemetery? Bianca had only gotten a phone call, and had not said anything besides the fact that they all needed to go home.

Thunder boomed overhead. The storm clouds blotted out the sunny sky that had been there just an hour earlier. “You think we could hang out tomorrow, or something?”

“Not sure yet.” Luke's eyes refused to leave the road, clearly not caring to abide the speed limit.

Travis sat forward in his seat. “You know what this means, right?” Luke glanced at him in the rearview mirror, cocking an eyebrow. Travis glanced at his twin.

The other brunet scrunched his lips. “He'll be coming in.” His blue eyes fell upon Travis. “You think Nico still wants to punch him?”

Luke let out a sigh. “Both of you, be quiet. I know he'll be coming up from New Orleans.”

Travis shrugged. “Just saying. You'll have to see him, since you're a first.”

Percy turned to face Luke. “First at what? Who's coming?”

“Oh, uh, nothing.” Luke scratched his cheek. He seemed to forget Percy had been in the car. “Just a term we use.” He shot a glare at the twins. “Just an old friend coming to visit.”

The rest of the car ride was quiet. Whoever the twins had brought up, clearly was not someone Luke was going to be happy seeing. The blond kept tightening his grip on the steering wheel as he drove back. Percy glanced back at the twins once during the drive, wondering why they were being quiet. Travis had his chin propped up and was staring out the window, while Connor was resting on his shoulder.

By the time they got back, it looked like it might start raining at any second. Percy opened his door and got out, crouching down to stare at Luke. “Thanks for today, I had fun.”

Luke smiled. “No problem, man. Sorry we had to cut it short, but I'm sure we can hangout again.” He released a breath. “You know, you're welcome to eat lunch with us, if you want.”

Percy blinked. “Thanks.” He held up his hand in a wave. “I guess I'll see you Monday, if I don't see you before then.”

Luke looked serious again. “Yeah.”

Percy shut the door and stood up straight, stretching his arms. He adjusted the towel on his shoulder and headed towards his apartment stairs.

“Percy!”

He looked up to find Kinzie and Octavian climbing out of a car. The girl carried several containers worth of food in her arms. She smiled up at him as she briskly walked over. Percy waved at her. “Um, hi?”

Kinzie began handing him the food she carried. “Sorry about coming over unannounced, but Mrs. Dodds is having everyone at church try and make you something.” She beamed up at him. “And, well, I spent all morning in the kitchen with mamma to help out.”

“And, of course, to offer you an invitation to church,” Octavian interjected.

“Oh.” Percy looked down at the food. “Well, I still have some from when Mrs. Dodds dropped some off.” He looked up his apartment. “You want to come inside? It looks like it might rain soon.”

Kinzie smiled and let him lead the way. Once inside, Percy deposited the food into his refrigerator. Kinzie was busy looking around the tan boy's apartment. Octavian had set himself down on the couch.

“Um.” Percy closed his mouth, wanting to cringe. Did he really want to decline this invitation? He had no desire to go. He was beginning to wonder if people got offended around here when people declined a church invitation. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll have to think over the church thing.”

Octavian nodded. “That's cool. You already got one in mind?”

The green-eyed boy pursed his lips. How was he supposed to respond to this? Two things he had figured out in his week of being here that would be a problem for him: being an Atheist and his sexuality. He might end up getting lynched himself if he were to come out and announce those.

Percy rubbed his neck. “I'm just still adjusting to the town, taking some time to settle in.”

Kinzie was inspecting a flower on a shelf that sat above his TV in a thin vase. “This is a very pretty flower.”

“Thanks,” Percy mumbled. “A friend from back home gave it to me to remember her by.” He sighed.

Kinzie turned to face him, her lips pressed together in a thin line. “So, we couldn't help but notice who dropped you off.” She shook her head lightly, taking a few steps. “The Castellans are like demons themselves, trouble incarnate. Those boys are never up to any good, Percy, and they're bound to get you in trouble as well.”

He was starting to not like having these conversations. “They don't seem that bad. Have any of you tried to get to know them?”

Octavian scoffed. “No, but we've seen enough from them. Luke, the ringleader for the Castellan brood, didn't always have that scar, you know. Personally, I think his family put him through some Satanic ritual that involved knives.”

Kinzie nodded. “Or those unexplained animal attacks.” She shook her head. “The people that were attacked said the animals' eyes looked almost human. Tell me that isn't bizarre.”

Percy's fists clenched from where he stood behind the kitchen counter. “Or what about Connor having a cross carved into his wrist?”

Kinzie pursed her lips. “I wasn't part of that.”

“Though some of those kids couldn't even defend themselves from those allegations,” Octavian mumbled.

Percy's brow furrowed. “What?”

“Oh, they didn't tell you?” Kinzie shook her head, tossing a glance at the blond on the couch. “Those 'horrible' kids that 'supposedly' did that ended up in the hospital not even a week later. Their bus wrecked on the way to a game. All of them were taken to the hospital, some ended up severely injured. One of them now has to use a wheelchair.”

Octavian laced his fingers in front of his face, leaning forward. “And two of them died, bled out internally.” He shrugged. “They were asked what happened, but to this day, none of them will comment on the accident.”

“You can't just blame them for an accident, though.” Percy shook his head. “That doesn't seem right.”

“Percy,” Kinzie said, reaching across the counter to touch his arm, “those kids are demons. And you're going to end up hurt or dead if you keep hanging around them. We're just trying to help. I don't want to see the devil get a hold of you.”

Percy rubbed his face. Why hadn't Luke mentioned this to him? Luke wouldn't have tampered with the bus, would he? There had to be people on that bus that were not involved with the attack on Connor. Luke and the others would not do that, would they?

“Luke said that he never went after them after finding out.”

Octavian stood up. “The servants of the devil don't have to go anywhere, not with those dark rituals.” He slipped his hands into his pocket. “You should go checkout the courthouse. There are a lot of records on the strange happenings of this town. Perhaps then you'll start to believe the truth about these friends you're making.”

\---------------------------------

There were a lot of screams. Percy jerked around, finding himself inside of a dark house. A door was kicked in by men carrying torches. A woman was yanked from her bed, a silver necklace being ripped from her neck. The pentagram symbol spun on the wooden floor until it fell flat. The house was burned to the ground with the woman and her family inside.

The scene changed around Percy. He stood out in a field; canon and gunfire could be heard in the distance. A large, old house was behind him, an army of Union soldiers slowly surrounding the place. The fields were being burned. A woman with long, flowing dark hair emerged from the house.

She held a hand up and the fire began to swirl and engulf the soldiers. The earth itself began to open up and swallow men as they turned to run away. The woman looked on with a glass of wine in hand. Her long hair flowed behind her gracefully as she turned to walk back inside the house, the sounds of dying soldiers still filling the air.

Percy jerked forward as his body was torn from the old plantation house. He jerked his head around as he found himself standing in a crowd of oddly dressed people. They reminded him of the pilgrims. The women had their hair up in buns and their bodies almost completely covered by self-made dresses. The men wore knee-length breeches with long vests and shirts. Both genders had shiny buckles on their shoes.

A woman with an elegant and timeless face stood amidst a small group of people. She had an arm around a teenaged boy around Percy's age. His eyes were dark and his black bangs just barely hung into his eyes, the back of it up in a ponytail.

“No!”

Percy spun around to find a woman being dragged from a cart towards a barrel beneath a tree. The man in front of her dragged her by her hair, causing the young woman to stumble every few feet. She wore rags and had no shoes on. She was brought in front of the barrel, where people bowed their heads.

“Where is my family now?” She spat bitterly. “A curse upon you all.” A faint wind blew in the air. “A curse on our family!” She spat on the ground, several people in the front of the crowd taking a step back. “The coven will burn, bleed from the inside. You will be your own undoing, this I swear!”

She yanked a knife from the man that had dragged her up there and slit her palm before anyone could react. As the dagger was torn from her hand, she held her palm up and a laugh. The wind howled as her hands were bound behind her back.

“There is no family in this coven!” She yelled just before the barrel was kicked out from under her.

Percy's breath hitched as the world was yanked out from under him. His hair whipped in his face, dead leaves being blown by. The boy yelled as his body was pulled into darkness, down into the earth. He stumbled when his feet came in contact with the ground.

Green eyes blinked as they stared at a stone door in front of him. Glancing around, he found small torches burning on the walls. Pillars held the ceiling up, droplets of water occasionally falling from it. Old skulls protruded from the wall.

On the stone door were carvings, written in a language that Percy could not understand. There was no handle, though, no way of visibly opening it. There were only two things Percy could see upon this door. The first were three markings in the very center. Two crescent shapes sat on each side of a circular indention that represented a full moon. The second was a small stone bowl protruded from the door in its center, a dagger placed on top of it.

Percy was yanked backwards, yelling loudly. He was pulled through the air and flung out into the night sky. He tumbled through the grass and leaves. A large oak door was slammed in his face. An old house now stood before him. Not old in the sense that it might fall apart soon, but that it looked like it had stood there for many years and still managed to look freshly built.

There were no cracks in its architecture, no flaw that Percy could find. Vines wrapped around some of the pillars on the large porch, and even stretched out across portions of the walls and windows. A small lantern sat beside the door, encased in glass. The stone steps leading up to the door were completely spotless.

His eyes widened as he was pulled towards the door.

Percy jerked up in bed, breathing heavily. His eyes were wild as he searched around his room, finding himself back in his bedroom. He let out a breath and fell back on his pillow. The boy made a face as he wiped a hand across his sweaty torso.

He tossed the covers back and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Blowing out a breath, Percy stood up and padded towards the kitchen. He made a face and reached around to adjust the backside of his boxers, which wanted to stick to his butt.

The green-eyed boy grabbed a glass from a cabinet and ran it under the faucet before raising it to his lips for a drink of water. He was about to refill his glass when he heard the floor creak behind him. Sitting the glass down, he slowly crept towards the hallway. Squinting into the darkness, Percy tried to see anything.

“Hello?”

Silence. Percy scratched his back, checking behind him. Nothing. He froze at the sound of a door slowly closing. Inching towards his bedroom, he turned the corner and flipped on the light.

His closet door tapped against the wall, but Percy could not see anyone nearby it. Walking over, he flipped the switch and peered inside the closet. No one was there. His breath hitched, a chill running down his spine, at the sound of something scraping against the wall in the hallway. It was like someone was dragging their nails along the surface, slowly making their way towards Percy's bedroom.

Creeping over to his bed, Percy slowly reached out and grabbed his baseball bat. The sound stopped and Percy raised it behind his head. He waited, but nothing appeared in the doorway. Swallowing a lump in his throat, Percy walked towards the hallway and peered around his apartment.

There was no one to be found.

After inspecting every inch of the place, Percy collapsed on his couch. He ran a hand through his hair as he glanced at the door. It was still locked, just like Percy had left it. There had been no windows open, no sign of anything amiss. But Percy still knew what he had heard.

Leaning forward, Percy buried his face in his hands. He glanced at a clock. It was just a little past three in the morning. He was not going to be able to go back to sleep. Percy was wide awake now, his heart still pounding in his chest. Releasing a breath, he got up and headed towards his bedroom.

Grabbing an old shirt, Percy slipped it on with some shorts. He went back into the living room, where he slid his feet into some blue tennis shoes. Making sure to grab his keys and iPod, the green-eyed boy slipped out of his apartment.

It was still the dead of night. There was a dead silence filling the air as Percy descended the stairs of his building. A heavy fog had come in at some point during the night. The tall youth slipped his earbuds in before jogging towards the road.

The athletic boy jogged towards the school. He found himself on the track field, where he ran in an attempt to clear his head. Perhaps that dream had just gotten to him. It had felt like he had actually been there, he had even been able to smell the smoke.

After an hour of swapping between jogging, walking, and running, Percy laid himself down in the grass, not caring that it was wet. His heart pounded against his chest, his adrenaline still pumping. A sense of familiarity was in that dream, but he just was not able to place his finger on it. He scrunched his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was like a fog was already covering his mind. His arms dropped to his sides with a heavy sigh. His breathing soon slowed as he drifted off to sleep.

Percy jumped up when the sprinklers went off. He yelled and dashed off of the grass. He was not that soaked, thankfully. Scrunching his eyes, he glanced up. The sun was just breaking the horizon, so he could not have been asleep more than two hours. But even so, his mind was still spinning.

He took off jogging again. Percy ran for a long time, not really paying attention to where he was going. Some part of his mind acknowledged that he missed the turn to his apartment, but he did not stop running. His legs carried him through the woods and back onto the road, through a small field, and then onto an old dirt road. Percy slowed down when he ended up back in the woods.

He bent over and rested his hands on his knees, panting heavily. His body was completely drenched in sweat now, but he had never felt more awake. When he stood up, he found an end to the woods. Percy staggered forward.

An old, black iron gate stood before him. Inside of it were tombstones, both new and old. There were even marble statues in front of some of the graves. At the very center, built partially into the ground, was a crypt of some kind. Percy swallowed and walked around for a bit.

When he found the entrance, he stepped inside, the grate creaking on him. He moved quietly through the graveyard until he stood in front of the crypt. There were no special markings on it, not even a family name to decipher if it belonged to a certain family. A stone door had been placed there to block entry. In the center were odd lines and half triangles. Two small pillars had been crafted into the stone of the entryway.

Percy cocked his head to the side, leaning in to inspect the markings on the door. He could not decipher what they were supposed to do. They weren't words from any sort of language, that much he knew. They were just lines and pieces of triangles. Percy slowly reached out and ran his fingers across one of the triangle shapes.

“Mighty early for a young lad like yourself to be out in a cemetery, wouldn't you say?”

Percy nearly jumped out of his skin, jerking his hand back. He spun around to be greeted by a black and platinum tie. He slowly looked up about two inches to be met by a pair of dark eyes of a madman. The man's black hair was cut short and styled, a small beard covering his chin. He was also very pale, like he had not seen the sun in many years.

But he had not sounded angry when he had spoken to Percy. There was just a hint of southern drawl in his voice, giving it a rich but oily feel. However, he was watching Percy very closely, unsure of the youth's presence. Percy swallowed and looked down, noting the man was carrying a bouquet of roses.

The man gave him a toothless smile and reached out to pat the stone of the crypt. “Nice structure, isn't she?”

“Um,” Percy swallowed, “yes, sir.”

The man pressed his lips together, assessing Percy's appearance. “Isn't it a little early for someone as young as you to be running about? I'd imagine you'd prefer to still be in bed, or perhaps sitting in front of a television set, playing on a video game.”

The way the man had pronounced his last two words made Percy cock his head to the side. The pale man had enunciated every syllable in video games.

“Gonna catch a cold, boy, standing around here with your mouth agape like that.” The man nodded, eyeing Percy again. “Better run along, lest you catch one.”

Did anyone even say lest anymore?

Percy rubbed the back of his neck. “I'm sorry, I was just out for a run.” He motioned with his hands. “I just moved to town, and I'm not really familiar with the area, so I was just wandering around.”

The man stroked his beard, still examining Percy. “New in town, you say?”

Percy slowly nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Not breaking eye contact with Percy, the strange man pointed to his right. “Back through the gate, take the old-looking path. You'll come to a road, it'll take you back towards town.”

“Thank you.”

The man hummed in response. Percy briskly walked away from the man and the crypt, only turning to look when he was closing the gate. The man was crouched down in front of a grave, where he placed the roses carefully. Percy lowered his gaze and quickly headed the way he had been instructed.

When he reached the road, Percy stopped. Down the road a piece, on his left, he could barely make out an iron gate. Houses, Percy thought. Was he nearby Luke and the others' houses? He must have run further than he originally thought. Letting out a yawn, Percy began his trek back towards town.

The fog was still lingering in the town when Percy got back to his apartment. His first order of business? A shower. He let out a groan as the hot water cascaded down his body. He had not realized how sore he was until he had finally stopped running.

Percy turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a fresh towel. Padding from the bathroom to his bedroom, he plucked his phone off the bed. Scrolling through his contacts quickly, he raised the phone to his ear.

It rang a few times before Luke picked up with a groan. “Percy?” Came the blond's rough voice. He must have just woken up, Percy thought. “What's up? It's early.”

“Um, sorry.” He glanced at a clock. It was just a little past eight now. “I was seeing if everything was all right? You guys seemed a little upset yesterday.”

“Um, yeah, everything is fine. It turned out to be nothing. Ow!” Luke hissed and pulled the phone away from his mouth, mumbling something that Percy was unable to make out.

There was a groan, followed by a shifting nearby Luke. “I'm still trying to sleep, shut up,” came Nico's groggy voice.

“Sorry, sorry,” Luke mumbled. “One second, Percy.”

Percy heard the bed shift before footsteps could be heard. A door opened and closed, and then it sounded like the blond was walking down the stairs. Percy guessed that Nico really did sleep in the same bed as Luke. He had just thought they had been joking yesterday. But he supposed this did mean they were dating.

Luke cleared his throat. “Sorry about that. Yeah, don't worry, it turned out to be nothing. An old friend of Nico's family thought he saw someone trespassing. Thought there might be some trouble.”

“Oh, good.” Percy nodded his head, even though Luke could not see it. “So, are you busy today? Maybe we could hang out again.”

Luke chuckled. He let out a groan. “I'd really like to, but I've got some work I've got to get caught up on. My dad will kill me if I don't.” The blond cleared his throat again. “Most of us are going to be busy today.”

Percy's shoulders slumped. “Oh. Well, that's okay. Um, I guess I'll try to find something to do.”

“Sorry, man. If we find some time, I'll give you a call, yeah?”

“That's fine,” Percy whispered.

“Luke, light of my life, please put some clothes on,” came a new voice over the phone.

“Sorry, dad!” Luke called back. “Just woke up.”

A woman's laughter could be heard. “At least he has underwear on.”

Luke blew his lips. “Sorry about that, parents are up. You could try going to the park, but I mean, the only people you will probably find are the church kids. As much as I dislike them, I think you're smart enough to not be drawn in by them. And I'd hate for you to die of boredom before we see you again, so I guess try them.

Percy let out a small chuckle. “I'll try not to let them make me as crazy as them. Um, I don't know, I might go, but probably not.”

“There's really not a lot to do in this town.”

“So I've noticed,” Percy mumbled. “If worse comes to worst, I'll just stay here and do some organizing or homework.”

“Wow, you must be bored.”

“Yeah,” Percy chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I guess I'll let you go, so you can get ready.”

“Okay. I will talk to you later then. Call me if you need anything.”

“Bye.” Percy hung up the phone, dropping it back on his bed. With a groan, he fell onto the bed and buried his face into the sheets. He was going to die of boredom in this town. It was not that he was trying to judge the religious kids, but somehow Percy thought Luke and the others would be the more entertaining bunch.

Percy rolled onto his back, putting an arm behind his head. His body was still sore. Perhaps he should just take the day to rest. He was in the south, and they did believe Sunday was the day to rest. When in Rome, right? Letting out a sigh, Percy decided it seemed like the best course of action after all. Besides, he thought to himself, he was sure the coming week was not going to give him much of a break.

The three moons in his dream were still weighing on his mind. He felt like he should know where that symbol had come from. It seemed like he had studied it in school once, or perhaps ran across it in some research. That would give him something to do today, he supposed.

His bedroom door slammed shut, causing the boy to sit up with a start. His eyes were wide as he scanned the room. Perhaps he would not be getting any rest today.


	5. Who is the Real Evil Here?

Percy's bed was so comfortable. It was warm and the sheets were soft. He let out a sigh of contentment as he sank deeper under the sheets. It was heaven. All he wanted to do was sleep and never get up. He did not have any intention of moving, not even for-

“Percy!”

The green-eyed boy jumped, his body nearly falling over. He blinked several times, realizing he was still in Home Economics. With a sigh, he pushed his bangs out of his eyes and looked over to Nico. The boy had a frown on his lips—big surprise there—as he stared at Percy, looking slightly confused.

Nico sighed and put down the bowl he was holding. “Were you paying attention?” He did not sound irritated, which was a good sign. The boy gave Percy a concerned glance before pointing to Percy's side of the table. “I asked you to pass me an egg.”

“Oh.” Percy felt his face heat up. He had not really slept last night, and he had barely managed getting himself out of bed this morning. It was days like this that he truly hated not having someone to wake him up if he overslept.

But it was not his fault, not really anyways. He kept waking up in the middle of the night, thinking he had heard something. But every time he got up, all he found was an empty apartment.

He scooped up an egg and went to hand it to Nico, who was leaning forward to grab a spoon that was directly in front of Percy. The smell of peppermint drifted into Percy's nose again. The tall teenaged boy licked his lips and let his eyes wander across Nico's back just as the small boy raised up. It did not take him long before he felt bad, though.

Nico was dating Luke, Percy reminded himself. Besides, anything that was there was probably just physical. Nico was an attractive guy, Percy could openly admit that. He had a nice body as well, as the boy's tight jeans could attest to. But Percy was no home wrecker, nor would he pursue something that was just a lustful attraction. At most, he probably just missed his ex-boyfriend.

Percy rubbed the back of his neck, holding out the egg for Nico. “Here you go,” he mumbled.

Nico glanced up at him before carefully reaching out and taking the egg. The boy cracked it against the table's surface before holding it over the bowl he had been holding and dropping its contents inside. Tossing the eggshells into the small trash bin beside their station, Nico picked up the bowl and began to mix the egg.

“You know how to cook?” Percy asked, watching Nico work. He wanted to be of more help, but, honestly, he felt lost.

The pale boy shrugged, glancing at Percy from behind his bangs. “Demeter is my step-grandmother, what do you expect? But even before that, I spent time at her house when mom and dad had to run errands.” Nico bit the inside of his cheek, sitting the bowl down and motioning to Percy. “You can mix in the rest.”

Percy nodded and slid the bowl over to him. At least Nico was trusting him with work again. After the flour incident last week, Nico had barely let him lift a finger.

“You look horrible,” Nico mumbled, now leaning against the table's surface.

Percy frowned. “Thanks.”

The boy shrugged. “Just being honest. You look like you didn't sleep much last night.”

“I didn't.”

Nico rubbed his neck, his eyes closed. “Maybe you should go to bed earlier and stop playing with yourself before sleeping.” His eyes flickered over to where Percy stood. “Obviously you haven't been around here long enough to know that that sort of thing can cause you to go blind.”

Percy snorted. “Wasn't that disproven?”

Nico still remained serious, which entertained Percy all the more. “I'm sure if people believe it enough, it'll become reality. I mean, people believe I'm a witch, so I must be one, right?”

“Glad you can admit it,” Khione remarked as she passed by their station.

Nico rolled his eyes. Letting out a sigh, he returned his attention to Percy. “Regardless of truth, belief is a powerful thing. It causes fear when there is no reason to have any.” His brown eyes drifted down to where Percy was mixing the ingredients. “Fear and belief in something give it power.”

Percy slowly nodded his head. “Is that your way of saying you wanted to watch me masturbate?” The green-eyed boy's lips tilted up. “I mean, I don't mind putting on a show and all that.”

Nico narrowed his eyes. “Don't hold your breath.” He sighed and glanced at the clock. “Now hurry up, the bell is about to ring.” A smirk appeared on the boy's lips. “Besides, you're already a dick, so I don't need to see yours.” Batting his eyes, he smiled innocently at Percy.

The tan boy frowned and narrowed his eyes. “And here I thought we were having a moment.”

“Only until you ruined it with your stupid comment.” Nico yanked the bowl from Percy's hands. “It must take some real talent to be able to shove your foot in your mouth in so many ways,” Nico continued condescendingly.

“You must be a professional ass,” Percy mumbled.

Percy tensed up when Nico shot him a glare. But the boy shrugged and turned his head to look behind him. “I do have a nice ass, now that you mention it.” Nico turned and placed a hand on his butt.

Percy's eyes flickered down. “Yeah, you do,” his mouth said before he could stop himself. Nico's eyebrows shot up. “Um, I mean, it's just an observation.”

Nico slowly nodded. “Uh-huh. Whatever you say, Percy.” The boy shrugged and went back to work on their cooking project. The green-eyed boy let out a groan. “Careful about such remarks, I happen to know someone who has a habit of getting jealous.” He smirked at Percy. “I'd hate to have your pretty little face ruined. All you have going for you, really.”

Percy gave the boy a lopsided grin. “You think my face is cute?”

The bell rang. Nico let out a sigh, putting the bowl down. “I find myself amazed at what you manage to take out of a conversation, Percy,” Nico droned. “Help me clean this up.”

It did not take long to help with that task. Nico had been very strict throughout class at keeping Percy from dirtying up their station. He could not help but feel the boy had not forgiven him for the flour incident just yet.

Percy stopped Nico when they entered the hallway. “Thanks again,” Percy motioned to Nico, “for being my partner.” He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “I'm not very good in the kitchen.”

Nico scrunched his lips, his brown eyes scanning the halls. “Don't worry about it. But maybe you should learn to cook, so you don't have to rely on people to feed you.”

“It's not like I'm asking them to do it.”

Nico's lips tilted up as he returned his gaze to Percy. “I'm sure Demeter would teach you, since you helped her out at the grocery store.”

Percy shook his head. “It wasn't a big deal. I'd have done it for anyone.”

Dark brown eyes looked him over. “Still, living on your own, it might be a good idea.” Percy nodded in response. Nico glanced down the hall again, rising up on his heels to get a better view. “Maybe then you can help out more in class, and I won't be stuck with most of the work.”

Percy laughed at that. But his laughter quickly died down when three boys came up from behind them and smashed eggs against Nico's head.

The students in the halls grew quiet as they stared the boy with yolk dripping from his hair. Nico stood there in shock, his mouth hanging slightly open and his eyes full of panic. The top of his hair was matted down, the clear and yellow contents of the destroyed eggs dripping down onto his clothes.

As laughter erupted in the halls, one of the boys turned around as he walked away. “I heard you and the rest of the freaks you hangout with like sacrificing animals. Thought I'd help you out.”

Percy wanted to grab the buy and punch him, but a blonde blur quickly shot through the crowd. Annabeth stood at Nico's side, wiping the egg from the boy's face. “Are you all right?” She asked.

It took Nico a second, but he nodded. “I'm fine,” he whispered.

Annabeth picked pieces of eggshell from the boy's black hair. “Spare clothes?” Nico simply motioned to his backpack. Annabeth nodded. She turned to Percy. “Help me get him to the bathroom? If Luke or Medea sees him like this...”

She let the sentence trail off, but Percy understood that nothing good would come of it. Annabeth took Nico's hand and led him down the hall. Nico glanced behind them. “I was waiting on Luke,” he whispered.

Percy took up the rear, acting as a shield for the boy's back. As they walked, Percy took the opportunity to finish getting the eggshells off of Nico. Why would anyone want to do this to someone else?

Annabeth sighed as she stopped in front of the bathrooms. “Do you want him to see you like this?” She raised a brow at the boy. Nico shook his head. Annabeth motioned to the door. “Then hurry up.”

Percy was surprised when Annabeth followed in behind them. There were two boys inside, who both froze when they saw Annabeth. Though whether it was for her being a girl or coming from the family she did, Percy could only guess.

“Dude, you can't be in here,” one of them said.

“Yeah, you're a girl,” his friend finished.

Annabeth ignored them and grabbed a paper towel. “Unless you both want to be turned into frogs, I suggest you both leave. Now.” Both boys quickly scrambled away. Percy raised a brow at her. The blonde shrugged. “What? We needed some privacy, and you could cut the fear in this town with a knife.”

Nico had already removed his shirt. Percy's eyes instantly fell upon the necklace that swung from his neck. Annabeth motioned to the sink. Nico made a face, but ended up doing as he was bid. The blonde girl turned on the water, raking her fingers through Nico's hair to help get rid of the yolk. Nico had a hand on the necklace, pressing it to his chest to prevent it from being in the way.

“They're going to notice,” Nico mumbled. “My hair's going to be wet.”

Annabeth let out a sigh. “That's true.” She scrunched her lips. “Maybe you could find Drew, I'm sure she has a hairdryer.”

“She's still bitter about me being gay, and it didn't help when I broke up with her brother.”

Annabeth tugged on Nico's hair, drawing a hiss. “I've told you before to stop blaming yourself. Mitchell deserved it. He's lucky that he didn't get his face beaten in.” She ran her fingers through Nico's hair again, letting it continue to soak. “Silena doesn't hate you, and that's all that should really matter. Neither does Lacy or Piper.”

“Piper dislikes me for other reasons,” Nico mumbled. He received a swat to the back, which finally drew Percy's attention to the boy's pale back.

Faint bruises had formed there in random spots. There was even a cut at the boy's shoulder, which would have barely been concealed by a shirt. But the bruises were definitely what stood out to Percy. They weren't big, but they were noticeable. Each of them was roughly the size of fingertips, like someone had pressed harshly against the boy's skin.

When he looked up, Percy found Annabeth's sharp gaze on him. She silently shook her head, letting Percy know not to say anything about the bruises. Percy shut his mouth, swallowing the lump in his throat.

Nico finally stood up, his hair dripping wet and matted to his face. Annabeth chewed her lip as she pulled a fresh shirt from Nico's backpack. She handed them to Nico. “Let me get a towel.” Grey and green met as Percy and Annabeth locked gazes. “Can you keep an eye on him for me?”

Percy silently nodded. Annabeth stepped around Percy, leaving him alone with Nico. Nico pushed his wet bangs out of his eyes, a depressed look filling his dark eyes. “I'm sorry,” Percy said without thinking.

Nico just shrugged. “You didn't do it.”

“Still, it shouldn't have happened.” Percy shook his head. “I mean, if you're a witch, shouldn't they be scared of you?”

“Well that's just it, they don't truly believe it.” Nico rested a hand on the sink; the shirt Annabeth had given him now on his shoulder. “They think we worship the devil, sure. Prance around naked and make sacrifices? Of course. It's what they want to believe. But magic?” Nico's eyes met with those of Percy's. “Everyone knows it doesn't exist, so how could they be afraid of something that doesn't exist by those standards? People openly practice witchcraft in the world, which is pretty common knowledge, but that still makes them the servants of the devil to some. Especially the Christians here, they can't comprehend that most that practice witchcraft or Wicca don't actually have anything to do with the devil.”

Percy swallowed another lump in his throat. “Do you...practice Wicca?” Nico's eyes narrowed at him. He held up his hands in defense. “Not that I'd mind. I was just wondering where all this started.”

Nico's eyes became dull as they continued to stare at Percy. “I'm not a witch, and I definitely do not practice Wicca.” He licked his lips. “It all just started with some old stories, back in the old days, when this town was just being built.”

The door swung open again, signaling Annabeth's return. The blonde handed Nico the towel that she had retrieved. She glanced between the two when neither was willing to make eye contact. “What happened?”

To Percy's relief, Nico beat him to the answer. “Nothing. Percy was just trying to make me feel better.”

If Percy were smart, he would have let that answer suffice. Annabeth seemed content with it. But he was clearly letting his mouth work on its own today. “What happened to those football kids that attacked Connor?”

The air became tense. Nico stilled, his head hidden under the towel. Annabeth's eyes pierced him like knives. “What do you mean?”

“I, um-” Percy cleared his throat. “It's just that some people were saying that Luke might have tampered with the bus.” Nico peeled the towel back to glare at Percy. Clearly these two were quite defensive of the blond. “I just couldn't imagine he'd be the type to mess with the bus and cause it to wreck.”

Annabeth rubbed her palms together. Nico went back to drying his hair. Letting out a breath, Annabeth gathered her things. “I can vouch for Luke. He was with me the entire night before the bus was used, and I even walked to school with him the next day. We were at my house, so I don't see how he could have done it.”

Percy nodded. Annabeth stepped around him with a chilly nudge to the shoulder. Percy's body stiffened. Talk about walking on eggshells, Percy thought to himself.

Nico glared daggers at him. Shit, had he said that out loud? Percy's mind was screaming at him to run, but he could not find the power to move. His mouth floundered. “I'm so sorry, I didn't mean...Nico, I-”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Shut up, Percy. Like I said earlier, you have a talent for sticking your foot in your mouth.”

Percy frowned, scratching at his chest. Nico's brow furrowed as he watched the green-eyed boy. “Are you okay, though?”

“Better, for now anyways.” He let the towel drop to the ground before slipping the shirt over his head. After straightening out his shirt, he pointed a finger at Percy. “One more thing, though. Don't tell Luke or Medea about this.” He paused, his mouth open as if he were thinking something. “Actually don't tell Jason either. You didn't see who did it, got it?”

Percy gave a nod. “Got it.”

Nico rolled his eyes, slipping his backpack onto his shoulder. “And please don't be stupid enough to keep asking that question about Luke.” He walked past Percy, making for the door. “I'm sure you're going to hear a lot about us, Perseus, but not all rumors are true.”

Percy turned as the door began to swing shut. “Don't call me Perseus!” He called after the retreating boy. He barely caught the wave that Nico gave over his shoulder. Percy frowned to himself, letting his butt rest against the sink.

\---------------------------------

To say Percy was getting a few stares was an understatement. The second he had moved from the lunch line to sit down with Luke and the others, the cafeteria had nearly fallen into a dead silence. He even received a few awkward stares from the kids at the table. Bianca held out her hand to Drew with a smirk. The Asian girl glared and reached into her purse, pulling out a five dollar bill and handing it to the dark-haired girl across the table.

Luke beamed at him. He slapped Nico on the back, causing the smaller boy to nearly choke on his drink. “I told you he'd sit with us.”

Nico's dark eyes looked up to stare at Percy. “Joy,” he mumbled. Then Nico's eyes flickered to a point over Percy's shoulder, his eyes narrowing.

“Percy?” The green-eyed boy turned around to find Kinzie standing there, holding her tray. “Do you want to come sit with us?”

All eyes at the table were on him. Without hesitation, Percy shrugged. “I'm fine where I'm at.” Kinzie pursed her lips. “I'm fine, Kinzie.”

The girl took a step before turning back to Percy. “If you need anything, I'll be right over there.”

“Going to dump more eggs on my brother?”

Kinzie tensed up. Medea now stood behind her with a cold look in her eyes. Nico let out a breath. “She didn't do anything, leave her alone,” the boy said calmly.

Medea jerked towards Kinzie, causing the girl to squeak. Medea cackled as Kinzie took off towards her normal table. Sitting down, Medea opened her bottled water. “Never gets old.”

Nico watched his sister, his chin propped up by his fist. “And you wonder why they are paranoid of us.”

Medea already had food in her mouth. “Not like they weren't already,” she said between bites. Nico cringed from listening to her. “Back me up here, Luke.”

The blond glanced at Nico, his arm resting on the back of the chair the boy occupied. Nico narrowed his eyes. Luke's blue eyes blinked a few times before he looked away and cleared his throat. “I mean, she's just concerned for your safety. We all are.”

Nico leaned back and crossed his arms. “I can take care of myself.”

“So that's why you got bullied today?” Medea mumbled. Bianca elbowed her sister, who turned to glare at Bianca.

Percy glanced back at Nico, who was watching another blond. Following the raven-haired boy's gaze, Percy found Jason and Nico having, what appeared to be, a silent discussion with their eyes. Jason's brow furrowed as he stared at the pale boy in silence. Nico took a deep breath and looked away, which only seemed to irritate Jason.

The blond sat beside his girlfriend, but the girl was not paying him any attention. Instead, it was Piper, who sat on his other side, who was trying to do that. The girl touched his arm, drawing the blond's harsh gaze from Nico. She smiled and whispered something to the blond. Nico rolled his eyes and glanced down at his tray.

“Eat,” Luke said, stuffing a fry in his mouth.

“Not hungry,” Nico mumbled. Luke attempted to drop a piece of toast onto the brown-eyed boy's tray, but Nico blocked it. Luke frowned and grabbed Nico's wrist, shoving the food into the boy's hand. “Fine.” Nico eyed Luke darkly before biting off a piece of the toast.

Luke rested his cheek on his palm. “How is it?”

Brown eyes narrowed at the blond. “I hate you.”

Luke blew Nico a kiss with a wink. Percy's focus was torn away at the sound of a fork hitting a tray. He glanced to his right, where the brunet boy that had been following after Drew last week sat, looking irritated. Like the last time, his hair was styled and had a small curl to it. His clothes were nice, as was the ring on his finger.

A small amethyst stone sat at its center. Inscribed onto its sides was the same dove that had been in Silena's necklace. The ring itself was silver, wrapping with a curve around the boy's tan finger.

His green eyes bore into the forms of Luke and Nico, who both seemed oblivious to him. Percy nudged Rachel, who was sitting quietly beside him. “Who's that?”

Rachel blinked at him before glancing in the direction Percy was staring. “Oh, that's Mitchell,” she whispered.

“Nico's ex?”

The red-haired girl gave a nod. “Not the best subject to bring up with him. He's still quite sore over it. Especially after this weekend.”

Percy tilted his head to the side. “About the trespassing thing?”

Rachel pursed her lips, tossing a glance over to Luke and Nico, who were still talking to each other. The girl shook her head. “No, it's more about who came to visit this weekend. He and Nico don't exactly...get along.”

Percy did not understand what Rachel meant until the end of the day, when school was letting out. Since he made the team, he did not have anything to do for a few weeks until the real practice started. So he had been sitting in study hall until the bell rang.

From there, he had gone to drop his books off that he did not need. An arm was slung around his shoulder. “Hey there, Percy,” Luke said with a smile. Nico stood beside him with a bored look and his hands in the pockets of the small jacket he wore. “Heading home?”

Percy zipped up his bag with a nod. “Thankfully. It's been a long day.”

“Amen to that.” Thalia strolled up to them, clasping hands with Luke. “Ready to find some trouble?”

Luke placed his hands behind his head. “I'm always up for some trouble.” He smirked when he received an eye roll from Nico. “Wanna join, Perce?”

A smirk touched at his own lips. “I suppose I could tag along.”

Thalia's own smirk appeared. “I like him better already.”

Percy followed the other three outside, heading towards the parking lot. But when they got there, Nico came to a quick halt. The boy's eyes narrowed. Thalia tugged on the boy's dark jacket, but Nico jerked his arm free. Luke's fists tightened.

A pack of girls had congregated around a bright red Maserati sat parked at the edge of where the sidewalk ended. Most of the girls had decided to take their phones out, and were rapidly trying to take as many pictures as possible. Percy frowned and craned his neck to get a better look. Though, it seemed he would not have to.

A very handsome youth with curly, sandy blond hair jumped off of the hood and strolled towards them. A pair of shades rested over his eyes. Percy noted that his smile was bright enough to make the sun jealous. He wore a red sleeveless shirt that showed off his tan arms. In his mouth was a round, red sucker, which he brought out with a popping sound.

He lowered his shades to raise his eyebrows at Thalia. “Cousin.”

Thalia narrowed her eyes. “What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be getting back for school?”

“That's not very nice.” His smile widened as he moved closer, now standing directly in front of Nico. The tall blond fingered the zipper on Nico's jacket. “It seemed like you were avoiding me this weekend, my sweet Nico.”

“Go to hell, Apollo,” Nico growled.

Apollo smiled and lifted his shades, placing them on his head. He stuffed the sucker back in his mouth, his eyes flashing briefly across Luke with a dark look. His blue eyes finally landed on Percy, pouty lips tilting up into a smirk. “And who do we have here?”

Nico grunted. “None of your business.”

Apollo chose to ignore him. He held his hand out. “Apollo Solace. Very pleased to meet you.” He added a wink for extra effect.

Percy gave the hand a firm shake. “Percy Jackson. Just moved here a little over a week ago.”

The blond removed the sucker again. “So you're the new kid I got to hear about over my visit.”

Thalia rolled her eyes. “Apollo's in college in New Orleans.”

Apollo wagged his eyebrows. “Med school.” Percy's eyes flickered down to the sucker in Apollo's mouth, which was being played with seductively. Apollo brought his tongue out to lick the red candy. “Much more exciting place.”

In all honesty, Percy would have thought Apollo another high school student. The blond could have easily passed for someone around sixteen or eighteen. He just had this almost immortally young look to his perfect and flawless face.

Percy blew out a breath, focusing back on Apollo's blue eyes. “Um...what?” He cleared his throat.

Apollo smirked and ran a hand through his curls. “New Orleans.” He extended his arms, waving the sucker around with them. “Though, I suppose I'll have to come back to this hellhole eventually.”

“Please don't,” Nico mumbled. Thalia elbowed him. 

Apollo gave a small chuckle. “Don't worry, Nico, I haven't given up just yet.”

Luke lunged for Apollo, but Thalia stepped between them. “Is there a reason you're here, at school?” She asked, glaring up at her cousin.

He smiled down at her. “To fetch you, of course. Jason's having to run some errands, Hera's still at work, and your father is taking care of a few things in town.”

Thalia narrowed her electric blue eyes. “There's always your sister.”

Apollo lifted his hands with a shrug. “But she has the baby.” His smile was no longer present. Apollo glanced at Luke, as if he expected the blond to comment. He cocked his head to the side. But when Luke said nothing, Apollo continued. “So I thought I'd be nice and come and get you. One last chance to see your cousin before he heads back to school.”

Percy's eyes widened. Out of nowhere, Nico shoved Apollo. The blond's eyes were wide as he stumbled backwards a few steps. Thalia quickly grabbed Nico around the waist, holding the boy back while he attempted to kick at Apollo.

Luke sighed and pulled Percy aside. “I know we were going to hangout, but I'm going to need to take Nico on home now.” He offered a weak smile. “Maybe later this week?”

Percy glanced at Nico, who was still trying desperately to reach the smirking blond. The green-eyed boy gave a small nod. “Yeah, sure. If you're sure you'll be okay.”

Luke placed a hand on his shoulder with a smile. “Been dealing with Nico for sixteen years, I'll manage.” Percy took a step before Luke grabbed his wrist. “Thanks, though. Sitting with us and everything today, and the past week, it's been nice.”

The green-eyed boy smiled. “It's been fun.” As soon as his back was turned to them, he frowned. He had really wanted to spend some time with them today. Sunday had been so boring, sitting in his apartment by himself. Percy was starting to miss spending time with friends. Not having a close group of friends was beginning to make him homesick.

He ended up stumbling upon Grover as he headed towards his car. The brunet was doing what most of the student body present in the parking lot was doing: watching Nico try and claw Apollo's eyes out.

“Hey, man,” Grover said, not taking his eyes off the scene.

Percy stopped walking and turned to face the other boy. “Hey. Does this happen whenever he visits?” He let out a sigh, closing his eyes. “Never mind.” How would Grover know? No one in town bothered to get to know these kids.

“Usually when it's only Luke or Nico.”

Percy blinked in surprise. “Wait, how do you know that?”

Grover gave him an odd look, like Percy had grown a second head. “Because I talk to them? Sometimes.” The brunet shrugged. “I mean, I've never been over to their houses or anything, but I talk to them when I run into them at the park, or something.” He clapped Percy on the shoulder. “They hold a pretty good conversation.”

“I didn't think anyone talked to them.” Percy motioned around them. “Most of the town is afraid of them.”

Grover cleared his throat, scratching his cheek. “Um, yeah. Funny story about that.” He looked sheepishly at Percy. “Maybe another time?”

“Asshole!”

Percy and Grover turned to watch Luke push Nico into his car. Apollo had his hands behind his head, grinning broadly. Thalia smacked him upside the back of his head before marching towards Apollo's car.

Grover blew out a breath. “Always so friendly.” He chuckled and slipped his hands in his pockets. “What you doing for dinner tonight, man?”

Percy rubbed his arm, letting out a groan. “I've still got a lot of food from people bringing it over.” He looked at Grover with horror. “Do you know how much food got dropped off yesterday afternoon?”

The brunet chuckled and slapped him on the back. “They're just being nice, brother.” Percy frowned. He had a friend from back home that referred to him like that. And that friend was a stoner. And now that he thought about it, he would not put it past Grover to be one as well. “But you gotta eat some junk food every now and then to survive as a teenager. Know what I mean?”

“Um.” Percy tilted his head to the side. Not really. “Sure?”

They reached Percy's car. He unlocked it, and to his surprise, Grover opened the passenger door. “Great! I can show you a bit of the town, too. That way, you can know where places are.”

Percy blinked, unsure of what to do. “Um, okay?” Grover beamed at him and got into the car. “Sure,” Percy mumbled before climbing in himself.

Grover was already busy making himself comfortable and adjusting his seat by the time Percy cranked the car. Percy was not sure if he was uncomfortable or not. He did not know Grover that well, but the boy seemed harmless and gave off a friendly vibe.

As they drove, Grover would occasionally point to a building and let Percy know what it was. It was not until Grover had divulged the location of one of the only two hair salons in town that the brunet chose to veer away from the scenery.

“Do I get the vibe of you not being a bible thumper?”

Percy briefly glanced at Grover, eventually shrugging his shoulders. “Not really. Why, are you?” Looking again, Grover did not really seem the type to Percy. Still, it would help him to know where delicate topics might reside for future conversations.

A grin broke out across Grover's lips. His arm hung out of the window, letting the breeze blow against his hand. “Nah, man. My mom was, but dad and I sort of...didn't really wanna go after she passed.”

“I'm sorry.”

Grover waved it off. “Got nothing to be sorry about.” His brown eyes roamed over the town, not really focusing on anything for very long. “But that was a long time ago.” He finally focused on Percy, glancing at the driver from the corner of his eye. “Car accident. Mom was pregnant with me at the time. She held out for a while, doctors said it was a miracle she lived long enough that she managed to survive long enough to give birth to me.”

“Sorry,” Percy whispered. Grover shrugged. Percy let out a breath, his eyes briefly catching some birds flying overhead. “I know how that goes.” Grover was watching him again. “Both of my parents died my freshmen year.”

“And then you get shipped off?” Grover scoffed, shaking his head. “That's cold, man.” He sat up suddenly in his seat, holding a hand up. Percy slowed down. “Ah, here we go.”

Percy looked around, not really seeing what he was supposed to be staring at. Grover reached over and grabbed Percy's chin, pointing ahead of them to a small building on the street corner. A big flashing sign sat above it. It read: Dionysus's Vineyard. There was even a neon grape vine that lit up beside it.

Percy parked the car in the store's parking lot. Sitting back from the wheel, he looked over at Grover. “What? It's just a liquor store.”

Grover chuckled at that. “Just a liquor store.” He blinked when Percy remained silent. “Oh, right, you're not from around here.” He cleared his throat, leaning slightly forward in his seat. “You do know that the south still has a lot of dry areas, right? The town's tried really hard to close Mr. Burgundy down, but the man always wins his case.”

“Burgundy.” Percy frowned to himself. That was one of the names Luke had mentioned. “Who is he? Associated with Luke's family?”

“Yeah, man. The man loves his wine, no way is he letting the uptight religious women shut him down.” Grover practically flailed his arms, which almost hit Percy in the face. “There's been a bunch of protests, even news coverage, but the man stands his ground. One of the few of their lot that gets out in public regularly.”

Percy looked at the store again. It did not look all that busy. “But they all go to school with us.”

Grover laughed, slapping his knee. “I meant the adults. They don't come out much.” The brunet rolled his eyes. “Some of the kids at school have created a rumor that the di Angelos' father is a vampire, because he is seen the least.” The boy leaned his head out the window, glancing around at their surroundings. “As if this town didn't have enough rumors about them going already.”

Percy scratched his head. “Why don't they just shut it down? Are they that afraid of Dionysus?”

Grover climbed back in the car. He gave Percy an odd look. “What do you mean? It's not like anyone can really do anything to them.”

“Well why not?”

Now Grover was looking at Percy like he was just plain stupid. That slightly irritated Percy, but he did not say anything. Grover climbed out of the car, sitting on the open window. Percy climbed out his own window to stare at Grover over the roof. The brunet motioned to the town around them. “What is the town going to do? Luke, Nico, Jason, Piper, Annabeth, Leo, Silena; their parents all own the town. When people started migrating here, when the town was being built, they were already here. They helped build the town; they funded its survival until it could stand on its own feet. They're fucking loaded, dude.”

Percy felt like a bus had hit him. Hadn't Luke said the opposite over the weekend? Not technically, he supposed. But it felt like it had been implied. Grover raised a brow. Percy rubbed his forehead. “I thought...Luke said that...well, he implied they weren't well off. Or maybe I just interpreted it that way. It's just that he said they lived in average houses, so I just assumed-”

Grover snorted. “I may not have been in their homes, but I have seen them. Dude, their houses could fit like two of mine inside.” Now Percy most definitely felt lied to. “Like really good architecture, and tons of land around them. Sort of manors, but not so castle-like.” He scratched the scuffle on his chin. “I guess like a southern plantation house, but not old, like you might picture them being.”

That would explain the iron gates, Percy thought bitterly. He shook his head, which was starting to hurt. How did this make any sense? He meets a group of kids, who turn out to be the village outcasts, but then he finds out they are the town rich kids? Back home, that would have made them quite popular.

Now Percy had a headache.

Half an hour later, they both sat on a picnic table at the park. Percy scarfed down the remainder of the greasy hamburger that he held in his hands, a heavy frown marring his features. They had opted to walk to the park, since it was not far from the small diner that Grover had taken them to, as well as giving Percy a better chance to look at the town.

“I'm sure they were going to tell you,” Grover assured him, looking up from his own burger. “Maybe they were scared you'd look at them differently.”

“You mean differently than what I hear about them from the rest of the town?” Percy mumbled bitterly. He sighed and grabbed one of his few remaining fries. “Where's the courthouse again?”

Grover pointed through some trees across the road and to their left. “Center of town. It's not very far from the school. I guess it would be better to say that it's downtown, though. Like there's the town square, which has a big flagpole that you can't miss. The courthouse is at the end of the square.”

Percy nodded with a sigh. His shoulders slumped. “Thanks.”

“Still going to keep looking for your family?”

Percy was quiet for a short time. He stared into the round cup that held his fries, shaking it lightly in his hand. “I have to. The sooner I do, the sooner I can go home.” Grover hummed in response, filling his mouth with another bite. “So, like, why do you talk with them? Half the town will barely say two words to them, unless it's to torment one or two of them.”

Grover shrugged, not really looking at Percy. “They're nice, when you get to know them. Nico's stepmother Persephone drops off some flowers for me and my dad on the anniversary of mom's death.” His brown eyes met with Percy's green ones. “I don't know, man, they look lonely sometimes, and I didn't like seeing them so down.”

“So why don't you go over to their houses?”

Grover stiffened. He had not seemed to be expecting that question. “Um, well, just...not really-Medea's scary, man.” Percy laughed at that. Grover chewed on his lip. “And the town's not really fond of people trying to be friendly to them.”

Percy let out a sigh and tossed his trash into the garbage can next to them. Wiping his hands on the back of his jeans, he said, “Yeah, well, I don't really let that decide who I want to be friends with.”

Grover smirked and squeezed his shoulder. “I'll pray for your soul. I'm sure the rest of the town will be doing the same.”

“Why, are they going to think me a witch as well?”

Grover slipped his hands behind his head and began walking back to Percy's car. “Nah, they'll just think you're consorting with them, probably that they've put a spell on you to lure you in. I'm sure it'll make all the girls come after you.”

Percy couldn't help but laugh at that. “May the Lord have mercy on my poor, unfortunate soul.”

Grover grinned over at him. “I can see why Luke and the others like you, you've got a sense of humor.” The brunet slowly spun around. “Not like the rest of this town!” He yelled loudly. “Stuck up prudes, the lot of them.”

On their way out of the park, they passed a row of houses. From the yard, an older-looking beagle came trotting from the yard to bark at them in its long and drawn out howl. Grover stared down at it with a frown before reaching down to pat it on the head.

He knelt down and scratched it behind the ears. The dog let out another howl. “Khione's dog. Much more friendly than his owner.”

Percy smiled and crouched down to pet the dog. “Hey there, boy.” The dog turned on him, wagging its tail. Percy's smile brightened as the dog pressed his front paws against Percy's chest. “He's a sweetheart.”

“Now,” Grover mumbled. Percy cocked his head to the side. Grover shook his head. “Nothing.” He smiled and rubbed the dog's head again. “Go on, boy.”

The dog barked at them before trotting back to its spot in the yard, wagging its tail on the way. Percy stood back up. Grover motioned for them to keep walking.

Grover kicked a rock as they walked along the sidewalk. The boy frowned as he stared down at it, not really showing concern for if he bumped into anything. Not that he probably had to. Grover likely knew these streets like the back of his hand.

The curly-haired brunet did not get back in the car when the arrived back at the diner, though. Grover grabbed his backpack and slung it onto his shoulder. “I think I'll just walk home from here.”

“You sure? I don't mind giving you a ride.”

Grover smiled at him. “Thanks, brother, but I'm okay.” He thrust his thumb over his shoulder. “I just live two miles down the road.”

Percy nodded. Climbing into his car, he watched Grover walk down the road. His forehead hit the steering wheel. He had been hoping Grover would stick around a little longer. 

When Percy got back to his place, he was dragging his feet on the floor. He collapsed on the couch with a groan. He wasn't sure if he would say he was depressed. Lonely? Sure. The realization that he had no real close group of friends kept becoming more apparent to him. But was it worth getting close to anyone here? If he could find his family, he had every intention of spending a short time with them before returning home. At most, he'd be here a year. Come graduation, there was no way he was going to still be here.

\--------------------------

School on Tuesday had been remarkably uneventful, at least by the standards Percy had already come to know from this town. Nico had remained quiet all throughout their class, barely making eye contact with Percy. In fact, any time Percy even tried to reach for anything, Nico would draw his hand away. It felt like regressing to Percy, but he let the boy be.

It was not really just Nico either. Most of Luke's gang were relatively silent with him, or at least seemed to be in a world of their own. Perhaps today was a little strange then, considering Luke kept spacing out during lunch.

Other than that, the only interesting event of the day had been when Kinzie had invited him to spend time with her friends that evening. At first, Percy had been more that a little reluctant, but it seemed like Luke and the others were busy, so he did not have many options. Besides, they couldn't be that bad, right?

But that was for later. For now, Percy was trying to find the records in the courthouse. An older woman had pointed him to the back rooms in one of the several offices that the building housed, but he had not really had much luck yet. He had found plenty of documents, just none concerning his family. And for a small town, Aimes had a lot of records.

He had already searched through the entire section for last names beginning with 'J'. As expected, his search was not going to be an easy one. He was beginning to wonder if his aunt had gotten ahold of something, because Percy was beginning to question her sanity. There was nothing, not a single piece of paper that contained his last name. If this was the correct town, how did an entire family and its history just vanish?

So that was how he ended up thumbing through old county documents, hoping that he might stumble across some mention of either of his parents or the lost family that he was here for. Percy rubbed at his face as he sat aside several more documents. He wanted to just give up, but he knew that would get him nowhere. His aunt was stubborn; there was no way she would relent with this.

The older lady that had pointed him to the records poked her head into the room. Her hair reminded Percy of a basketball. It rose up above her head several inches in a perm, and moved stiffly every time she moved her head. A pair of glasses attached to a chain hung around her neck.

“Do you need any help, sweetie?”

Percy straightened up with a sigh. He threw on a quick smile, shaking his head. “No, ma'am, but thank you.” As soon as she was gone, Percy's head hit the filing cabinet that he stood in front of. This was impossible. “I'm never going leave here,” he mumbled into the cold metal.

Percy let out a curse as a folder fell from the top a stack he had made on top of the filing cabinet. The papers scattered everywhere around his feet, one flying under a nearby table. Setting down the documents that were in his hand, Percy crouched down and began picking the pieces of paper up, not really bothering to look them over.

Perhaps it was a bad idea, not looking at them, but he really just wanted to hurry and go home. It was becoming quite obvious that this was going to just end up being a dead end. Percy shook his head and leaned under the table to grab the last page.

Coming up, he hit his head on the bottom of the table. Percy let out a hiss, his hand instantly going up to rub his fresh sore spot. His brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed as he focused on the paper now in his hand. It was a copied newspaper article, and the title was bold and large across the top of the page.

Local Witch Cult Suspected for the Murder of Two.

Percy browsed through the rest of the documents. As expected, every single page contained papers on the supposed witches in the community. Percy frowned to himself and sat on the table, picking up one of the documents.

Local father missing.

Boreas North(40) went missing Friday evening. No evidence was found around his residence. Wife and children distraught and without answers. Boreas was not known to partake in any alcohol or illegal substance.

Update: A set of clothes thought to belong to the missing party was found in the woods on the county border. Dogs found no trail. Possible foul play by magical parties?

Percy let out a breath and sat the police report aside. Without knowing the man's name, he knew it was about Khione's father. He glanced at the next sheet of paper: fingerprints from Hermes Castellan. Luke's father? Flipping to the next page, Percy found several more fingerprints.

The next article made him stop. It was an autopsy. But it was the name that made his blood run cold.

Maria di Angelo

Time of Death: Sunday at approximately 21:00

Cause of Death: Fire

The witch's body had been bruised prior to death. Her arm and a single rib were broken. Attempted to do a more thorough examination, but Hades di Angelo demanded the body be removed from my care.

Percy felt sick. He put down the document, not capable of finishing it. They had called her a witch in the official autopsy. He ran his hand through his hair. They had murdered Nico's mother. Murdered her, probably for just thinking she was a witch. His head was now spinning. Percy let out slow and steady breaths as he got up from the table.

It all made sense now. That was why it mattered to Luke when Nico asked him not to go after those dumb jocks. The town had murdered his mother, and he still showed them mercy? Percy was not sure he could have done the same. No wonder Medea was so angry with the people in town.

Percy's mind was racing into overdrive. Did the law enforcement let this go? Did they not do anything about it? Percy would have to find out. This was sick, just murdering an innocent woman.

Clack

Percy scrunched his eyes shut. His head must have been hurting worse than he thought. But then there it was again.

Clack

The boy frowned and closed the folder, putting it back on the filing cabinet. Creeping towards the door, Percy peered into the office.

The sound he had heard had come from a jet black cane with a silver handle shaped like an eagle's head. Percy's eyes came to rest on the man's hand, where two golden rings were. One was obviously a wedding ring, plain and simple, nothing out of the ordinary about it. However, the other ring was not so simple. The top was rectangular, a blue sapphire planted in it. On the side was an eagle holding a silver lightning bolt.

The next thing that caught Percy's attention was the expensive pinstripe suit that the man wore. Dark blue material covered the man's upper body, lined with thin black lines. A handkerchief even rested in his coat pocket. He was pressed and clean to almost perfection. His jet black hair had been gelled and parted to the side. The man's stormy grey eyes were lit up in amusement as they inspected the room. He looked relatively young for someone dressed in such expensive clothing, possibly late twenties or early thirties.

The man pulled a golden pocket watch from his pants pocket. “Can either of you lovely ladies tell me when Minos will be returning to his office?” He asked in deep and stern voice that reminded Percy of thunder.

Both women shook their heads. The one that had checked on Percy was the one to give the man his answer. “No, Mr. Grace, the judge said he had to run a few errands for his wife. But I'm sure he will be back soon, if you don't mind waiting.”

The man that the secretary had called Mr. Grace pocketed his watch with a grunt. “Well that is unfortunate. I trust he knew I was coming today, I did leave a message.”

The woman nodded. “Y-yes, Mr. Grace.”

The man's grey eyes did not seem to be amused anymore. “Unfortunate.” Motioning as if he were tipping a hat, Mr. Grace turned to leave. “Do be sure to let him know that I dropped by and that I was quite...displeased to not get a chance to sit down with him about that little misunderstanding that occurred on my property with those school kids.”

When the man that Percy was going to assume was Thalia and Jason's father left the office, Percy slowly walked back over the filing cabinet and dropped the folders back inside. His brow furrowed. The man looked a little young to be Jason or Thalia's father. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Percy grabbed his phone from on top of the filing cabinet and made his way out of the office, thanking the two ladies before he left.

Percy took the steps down from the courthouse two at a time. Once on the sidewalk, he slipped his hands into his pockets. He had to walk back to school to get his car. Since Grover had said it wasn't far from school, Percy had just opted to walk.

When he got back to the school, he found Jason and Piper sitting under one of the trees in front of the school building. Percy slowed down and altered his course, wanting to talk to Jason. As he drew near, Percy tossed a small wave to Piper, who noticed him from the corner of her eye.

Jason shook his head and looked around until he focused on Percy. “Hey, Percy.” The blond frowned. “Um, what time is it? I've kind of lost track of...time.” He reached up and scratched his head.

“Um,” Percy pulled out his phone, “it's getting close to five.” He watched as a confused look appeared on the blond's face. Was it just Percy, or did Jason appear to be lost? “You okay?”

Jason, who had been looking around, focused back on Percy. His blond eyebrows rose up as he got to his feet. “Me? Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I'm just a little out of it today.”

“Seemed like most of you were.”

The blond chuckled. He reached down and helped Piper to her feet. The girl placed a hand on her arm. “Just been a weird morning, I guess.”

“Yeah.” Percy scratched his arm. “So, um, can I talk to you guys? I mean, unless you guys were busy.”

Jason shook his head, like he was trying to wake himself up. “We...” He turned to Piper. “What were we talking about again?”

Piper rolled her eyes. “Homework.” She smiled at Percy. “Biology is quite boring to him. He fell asleep in class last week.”

“They were talking about stuff I already knew,” Jason mumbled. He frowned at Piper before turning back to Percy. “What's up, man?”

The green-eyed boy tossed his thumb over his shoulder. “Well, I think I ran into your dad back at the courthouse. Did something happen at home?”

“Ah.” Jason nodded. “Some kids were running around the house, and dad isn't very fond of trespassing.” He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. Percy raised an eyebrow at him. “He may have beaten one of them that he caught with his cane.”

“Oh.” Percy did not really know how to feel or respond to that. Was he surprised? Perhaps a little. “Um,” he licked his lips, “I found some files at the courthouse. I was trying to look for my family, but I sort of stumbled across some documents concerning your families.”

Jason frowned and Piper fidgeted. The girl tugged on the single braid that she wore in her hair. “Like what?” She asked.

Percy pointed off into the distance. “Did the town murder Nico's mother?”

Perhaps that had been the wrong topic. Jason's eyes became as dark as the night sky. “They did,” the blond almost growled. His tan fists were clenched at his sides. “Caught her on the way back from shopping. They beat her and then tied her up inside an old barn.” His eyes flickered to pierce through Percy. “And then they set the barn on fire and burned her to death.”

An uncomfortable silence fell over the three of them. Piper swallowed a lump in her throat, looking up at Percy from the top of her eyes. Percy did not know what to say, he already felt like had stepped over the line. Nico was right;he did have a talent for putting his foot in his mouth.

A small vibrating noise drew Jason's attention. He sighed and pulled his phone from his pocket. Running a hand through his hair, he said, “Speak of the devil.” He turned his body partially away from Percy and Piper as he answered the phone. “Hey, Nico, what's up?”

Piper frowned as she stared at the side of Jason's face. The blond was relatively quiet, apparently listening to Nico talk, which Percy could barely make out the voice over the phone. But it did appear that Jason's mood had lifted, which Percy would take as a good thing.

A smile crept across Jason's face. “Yeah, I can do that.” He paused, his eyebrows rising. “Oh, tonight? Um, yeah. I'll come right over.” He hung up the phone, turning back to the other two. “I gotta go meet Nico, he needs to talk to me about stuff.”

“But we were still talking.” Piper seemed a little irritated, Percy thought, as she roughly tugged on her hair. “And Percy's here.”

Jason frowned lightly as he pocketed his phone. “You mind if I run?” He asked Percy.

The raven-haired haired boy shook his head. “No, go ahead.”

Piper rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Fine, I guess I'll talk to you later.”

Jason smiled at her before taking off jogging towards the parking lot. Percy cleared his throat. “I guess I need to head home, too. Dinner later.”

Piper nodded, though her attention was focused on the jogging blond. “Okay, have fun, Percy.” She finally turned to smile at him. “I suppose I'll see you tomorrow at lunch?”

He nodded. “Yeah,” he replied. Piper nodded and walked off, touching his arm briefly as she passed. Percy's brow furrowed as he stared at the tree. That had been weird, he was not going to lie. When he remembered the time, he let out a silent curse and took off towards his car. He needed to get ready before he had to meet up with Kinzie and the others.

\----------------------------------

“And so there's water and foam everywhere! Needless to say, Octavian's parents did not let him stay alone for almost two years.”

Percy laughed as Kinzie finished her story. He sat next to a sulking Octavian, who had vocally objected to the story being told in the first place. The green-eyed boy smiled and took a sip of his drink. He was glad he had agreed to come out tonight. They weren't so bad, as long as he could keep them on the right topics.

And they were not as uptight as he originally thought, which had been a huge relief during the night. He was just glad they had a sense of humor.

Reyna smirked across the table at Percy. “So you got any good stories?”

“Ah.” Percy smirked, picking up a fry and tossing it in his mouth. “Well, there was the time I got me and my ex-girlfriend stranded on an island.” He chuckled at the looks he got. “Her name was Calypso, and her family had taken us vacationing in Hawaii. Well, I sort of wanted to show off with a boat we had rented. And, well, I sort of flipped it and crashed it into a rock.” He chuckled again, scratching his cheek. “Luckily there was a small island nearby that we were able to swim to and wait for help.”

“How long were you out there?” Octavian asked.

“Several hours. It was dark by the time they got us off the island.” Percy cringed at the memory. “Needless to say her father was not happy with me. I mean, not that she wasn't as well. We didn't stay together much longer after that.”

Hylla was the first to laugh. “You got any more stories like that?”

“Quite a few,” Percy mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was a bit of a handful as a child. Mom said I took after my dad.” He cleared his throat. “But, um, after my parents died, I sort of went through a rebellious stage.”

Kinzie gave him a sympathetic smile, squeezing his hand. “I'm sorry about your parents. I'm sure they were both lovely people.”

Percy nodded, staring down at the girl's hand. “They were.” He let out a breath. “But my aunt put a quick end to my rebellious stage. She was a very...strict guardian.” Percy unconsciously rubbed the back of his head, remembering where his aunt had smacked him for stealing the neighbor's car that one time.

A waitress stopped by their table, dropping off a small chocolate cake covered in whipped cream that the girls had ordered. Reyna looked over at the boys. “Either of you want some?”

Octaivan and Percy glanced at each other before shrugging and picking up their forks. Percy's eyes lit up at the taste. “This is really good!” He exclaimed.

Kinzie chuckled. “It's homemade.”

From his short time here, Percy was beginning to believe most eating places—aside from fast food—cooked their food from scratch. Not that he was complaining, he had yet to encounter anything he did not like. If he could say one thing for the south, they knew how to eat.

After the cake was gone, Percy leaned back in the booth with a groan. He was going to have to force himself to work out at some point either tonight or tomorrow. “Thanks for inviting me out,” he said with a smile.

Hylla waved him off. “No problem at all. We try to do stuff at least once a week.”

Kinzie nodded with a smile. “We'll have to invite you out more often.” She poked the table. “You should think about coming to church with us, though. It's a lot of fun, aside from having to wake up early.”

Percy scratched his chest. “I'm still thinking it over.”

Kinzie nodded and slid out of the booth. Each of them took turns paying for their meals before exiting the restaurant. Once outside, they all piled into Octavian's car. He stared pointedly at Percy when they got in. When Percy seemed lost, Octavian pointed to the seatbelt.

“Oh,” Percy mumbled, “sorry.” That seemed to be all Octavian needed before pulling out of the parking spot. “So how old is the town?”

“Early 1800s.” Octavian made sure to keep his eyes on the road as he answered Percy's question. Percy arched a brow at him, noting that he even held the steering wheel at the correct angles. “There was even a battle here during the Civil War, though it doesn't get that much attention.”

“Union soldiers burned a lot of land around here, especially plantations,” Reyna added.

There it was. Percy had been wondering how long it would be before he heard about the Civil War from people down here. Longer than he had originally thought.

He was a little thankful when they arrived back at the school, which was where Kinzie had gotten them to meet up before going to eat. It meant that he had managed to go through an evening with some of his peers and actually not have them even bring up Luke or the others. They were almost likable.

Percy waved to the others as they climbed into their cars and Octavian drove off. “Shit,” he hissed when his keys fell from his hand. Picking them up, he frowned and stopped. His brow furrowed as he glanced at the school, something catching his eye.

Squinting into the darkness, Percy caught sight of the Stolls as they climbed into one of the windows. Glancing around, Percy noted that he was the only one left in the parking lot. Pocketing his keys, Percy crept towards the building, keeping low to the ground. What were they up to?

The window was still open when he reached it. Peering inside, he saw nothing. Cursing under his breath, Percy climbed inside. His foot ended up catching on the window and he was sent, flailing, forward to the floor.

Percy stood in one of the English classrooms. The door had been left open just a crack, and peering outside, Percy caught sight of a flashlight as it ascended the stairs. Slipping the door closed quietly behind him, Percy crept into the hallway.

He tilted his head to the side, looking up the stairs that the twins had used. Were they pulling a prank? One step at a time, Percy tiptoed up the stairs. He froze at the top, hearing a locker slam shut. The clicking sound of a dial could barely be made out from where Percy stood.

“Too easy,” one of the twins whispered with a chuckle. “Here.”

“Why do I have to hold it?” Connor. Percy remembered how Luke had said Travis was the mastermind between the twins, so he knew the first voice had to have been Travis.

“Just hold on to it. We need to get it back home.” The twins took a few steps before Percy heard them stop. “And just keep it hidden when we get home. Nico and Jason are over, and I don't think Luke wants Nico hearing about this.”

“You mean until it's over,” Connor mumbled. He sighed and Percy heard them moving again.

Percy licked his lips, pressing himself up against the wall. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, resting his finger on the button to turn the flashlight on. They were getting close, but what were they carrying?

When they were practically on top of him, Percy turned the corner and shined the light on them. The twins instantly covered their eyes. Travis pushed his brother behind him. Percy rolled his eyes. “What are you two doing here?”

Travis pulled his arm away, shining the flashlight on Percy. “Percy? What the hell are you doing here?” He hissed.

Percy motioned behind him. “I saw you climbing in the window downstairs.” He frowned and peered around Travis to stare at Connor. “What were you two doing?”

Connor put his hands behind his back. “Nothing, just had to pick up a book. Have a paper to write and I forgot my textbook.”

The green-eyed boy crossed his arms. “I heard you two whispering. You broke into a locker.”

Travis shrugged. “We just had something to get. Nothing to worry about, Percy. Just sit back and enjoy the show.” He grinned. “Just a little fun. You can keep quiet about this, right? I can tell a lover of mischief when I see one.”

The boy ran a hand through his black hair. He stared at Travis for a second before rolling his eyes. “Yeah, sure.” He stared down at the hand that Connor slowly brought from behind his back. “But what did you get?” He moved forward and Connor instantly put the hand behind his back.

“It's nothing,” Connor insisted. Percy was not convinced. He pushed Travis aside and grabbed Connor's arm, forcing the boy to show his hand. Connor sighed and opened his palm. Percy's face contorted in confusion. “See?”

A piece of black string was stretched out across Connor's palm. Why did they need string? He looked between the two with a look of confusion covering his face. Unfortunately, Percy did not get to ask them anything. All three of them covered their eyes as a bright light hit them from behind them.

“Freeze! Don't move, kids!”


	6. Percy Jackson Goes to Jail

Percy liked to think he tended to be a calm and patient person. He had lived with his strict aunt for the past few years after all. But this? He was losing his patience, fast. Percy glared through his fingers at Travis, who lay on his back, kicking at the metal bars of their cell. It was like the brunet has no care in the world.

And his brother was not any more helpful. The younger twin was busy humming loudly to himself, all the while trying to squeeze his head through the bars. Just because he was skinny, did not mean he was a magician. Like it would do them any good anyways.

“Can you two stop?” Percy finally grumbled.

“Aw, come on, Perce,” Travis chuckled, hanging his head off the side of the bench to grin at Percy, “where's your sense of fun?”

“Spending my night in a jail cell after just moving to town is not my definition of fun.”

Connor pressed his feet against the bars, hanging there like some kind of monkey. “What are they going to do, charge us for stealing a piece of string?” He grinned over at his brother. “Not like we haven't been caught breaking in somewhere before.”

“Not since we were fourteen, though,” Travis reminded him. The older of the two sighed and glanced at Percy. “Just relax, we'll be out of here in no time.”

They had been in there for two hours now, and the police had yet to actually let them make a phone call. When Percy had asked the twins about it, they had simply laughed. Percy, for his part, failed to find the humor in their situation. He did not really fancy spending his night in a cold jail cell.

The green-eyed boy pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned back against the cold brick wall. Well, he did want to get closer to these kids, he reminded himself. Nothing like sharing a cell to do the job.

The sound of boots hitting the cement floor down the hall caught Percy's attention. He sat up straight as the police officer rounded the corner. He frowned into their cell, narrowing his eyes. Without saying a word, the man pulled out a set of keys and unlocked their cell.

“You're all free to go,” the man grumbled. “Your ride is up front finishing up the paperwork.”

The twins grinned and stepped out of the cell, making faces at the cop as he returned to the front. Percy blinked before standing to his own feet. “What just happened?” He asked.

“Dad must be here to pick us up,” Travis chuckled.

Percy froze. He watched the twins turn the corner, his mouth floundering on its own. It should not have been a big deal, but it felt like one. He knew now that these people were wealthy, but he also knew the town hated the adults from these families. It was true he had already encountered Demeter and Jason's father, but this one felt different.

The twins were already on the other side of the large desk by the time Percy arrived at the front. The boys' father stood in front of the desk. He wore a nice suit, like Jason's father had. The buttons looked to be made of silver, each with a little snake etched into it. On the man's finger was a ring with a turquoise stone, this one bearing two snakes criss-crossing in the stone. A small, black tweed hat sat on top of the man's head, hiding most of his black hair.

But he was not the only one there to pick up the twins. Luke, Nico, and Jason stood behind the man, though they were clad in their pajamas. Luke grinned sheepishly over at him. Nico, for his part, narrowed his eyes, probably not happy about being dragged out this late. But the curious thing was the shirt Nico wore. It was a navy blue, threatening to fall off the boy's shoulders. Obviously it was not his.

Percy's cheeks tinged pink as he glanced at Luke again. Perhaps there were other reasons Nico was unhappy about being pulled from the house in the middle of the night. Jason let out a loud yawn as Mr. Castellan finished signing the papers.

The man stood to his full height before facing the green-eyed boy in front of him. He held his hand out with a smile. “You must be, Percy.” The man's voice was so calm, almost soothing. It almost reminded Percy of a harp being played. “I'm Hermes, Luke and these hooligans' father.”

The twins simply grinned. “Our very loving and understanding father,” they both chimed.

Hermes sighed and motioned to the cop behind the desk, who was currently on the phone. “These fine gentlemen are just contacting your aunt for me. If it's okay with her, I'd be more than happy to get you out as well.”

Percy blinked. This man, whom he just met, was offering for his release? Not that much could be done to him, as he was still a minor for a few more days. Still, it would be nice to not sleep in jail. He glanced at the phone again. Though, after the last time he had gotten brought home by the police, his aunt had threatened to let him sit in jail for a while.

“No, ma'am, the gentlemen is here now. He's freely offering to accept your nephew to be released into his custody.” There was a pause. “Yes, ma'am. No, his name is Castellan.” Another pause came before the cop ripped the phone away from his ear.

Percy's eyes widened. Even from this distance, he could still hear his aunt's angry yelling from over the phone. He glanced at Hermes. The man bounced on his heels, smiling down at Percy. His blue eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief. Percy was starting to guess where Luke and his brothers got it from.

The policeman winced and tried to bring the phone back to his ear. “Ma'am-”

Again he pulled it away, some form of angry Chinese curses blaring from the phone's speaker. Perhaps if she was being a little more calm, Percy could have deciphered it. His father had taught him a long time ago that sometimes it was simply better not to understand his aunt when she was upset. Now would probably be one of those times.

Hermes did not seem concerned. On the contrary, the man was busy inspecting his nails as the policeman was forced to listen to Percy's ranting aunt. When the man hung up the phone, Hermes looked up with a smile. “I take it I have permission to liberate young Perseus here?”

The police offer narrowed his eyes with a sigh. “Yes, it is fine. I'll just need you to sign his form as well.”

“Marvelous,” Hermes replied, twisting the large ring on his finger. He pulled out his keys and dangled in the air. “Would one of you lad like to go get the car ready? Perhaps pull it around front for me.”

Jason grinned and snatched the keys from Hermes's hand. He mumbled something to Nico and dragged the grumpy boy out of the police station. Percy glanced in their direction as the door was about to close. It looked like Nico was about to yell at the blond.

Both twins put their hands on the police officer's desk. “I believe you have our string,” Travis said smugly.

Connor grinned. “We'd like it back.”

The officer gave them a dull look. “It's sting, go find some more.”

Travis tutted, wagging his finger. “No, sir, we asked for that string. It holds a lot of sentimental value to myself and my brother here I'm afraid. I must request it be returned to us.”

Percy shot them a confused look. However, the twins were now looking at Luke, who seemed to be having a silent conversation with them. Travis smiled and winked at his brother, who seemed to relax his shoulders. Grumbling to himself, the policeman handed the small piece of string over to Travis, who grinned and put it in his pocket.

Percy glanced at the door. Blinking back at the cop, he threw his thumb over his shoulder. “Am I free to go?”

The cop nodded, but Hermes stopped the green-eyed boy. “We'll give you a lift back to your car, Percy. After all, the twins left Luke's car there.” Luke glared at his brothers, who just chuckled. “It's no trouble at all, really.”

“Um, sure.” Percy smiled up at the man. “I guess I'll go wait outside.”

Hermes nodded at him before leaning over and signing his name on Percy's release form. Letting out a sigh, Percy pushed the door open to be greeted by the warm night air. At least the weather was not so unbearable at night. Percy's breath caught in his throat as he froze on the stairs that led up to the police station.

Jason had Nico pressed against the side of Hermes's van, their lips pressed together. One of Jason's tan hands rested against Nico's cheek as he sucked on the younger boy's lower lip. Nico had his arms crossed, but did not seem to be pushing Jason away. He was clearly kissing the blond back, his eyes closed.

The door was practically kicked open behind Percy. “You're a free man!” Luke chuckled and put an arm around Percy's shoulders.

When Percy glanced at Hermes's van again, Jason and Nico had separated. The two refused to look at each other, and even put several good inches between them. Nico cleared his throat as they approached. “Everything taken care of?”

Luke glanced at the brown-eyed boy before smiling. Detaching himself from Percy, Luke shifted behind Nico the wrap his arms around Nico's waist. “Yep, now we can get you off to bed. You do need your beauty sleep, after all.”

Nico turned his head to glare up at Luke, Jason snickering beside him. Percy remained silent. Nico glanced at him from behind his bangs. His lips tilted down as he stared into Percy's green orbs. Subconsciously, Percy's eyes shifted over to Jason for a brief second. Nico seemed to tense up in Luke's arms, the color draining from his already pale face.

“Time to get you kids home.”

Percy turned to find Hermes walking up to the van, the twins following behind him. As everyone piled into the van, Percy found himself sitting shotgun up front with Hermes. The trip was quiet for the most part, save for Hermes joking about the twins getting caught. It was a little odd for Percy to hear. Sure his own father had overlooked most of his stunts, but he knew most parents weren't so lenient with their children.

Upon their arrival back at school, Hermes parked the van a few spots behind where Percy had parked. “Percy,” Hermes called to him before he could shut the door. “Would you like to come have dinner with us tomorrow evening?”

That had caught him off-guard. “Um, I-uh...” It really should not have been that big of a deal, but it felt like it was. A real look inside the lives of these people the town wanted to persecute was being offered up to him, how could he say no? “Sure.”

Hermes smiled at him. “Very good. Luke can give you directions tomorrow.” Said blond had gotten out of the car at some point. He smiled over at Percy as he stood in front of the van. “I shall see you then.”

Percy nodded and closed the door. Hermes pulled out of the parking lot with the twins still in the van. Jason had Nico on the sidewalk, rambling about something. Nico smiled as the blond gestured with his hands. How could Nico cheat on Luke like that?

“I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow night then,” Luke chuckled, nearly startling the green-eyed boy. “It's not that hard to find, if you can remember the road we took to get to the river.”

Percy kept his focus on Luke. “I remember the road.” How could he forget it? He had walked all the way back to his apartment from that cemetery the other night. Percy chanced a quick glance over to Jason and Nico. The shorter boy let out a yawn as the two slowly made their way to Luke's parked car. Once they were far enough away, Percy turned back to Luke. “I went to the courthouse.”

“Wow, that was blunt.” Luke grinned. “I already know, Jason mentioned it to me earlier. Kept it from Nico, seeing as you found his mother's death certificate.” He glanced over his shoulder at the two other boys. “He's still having a hard time getting over it, not that I blame him.” The blond let out a breath and stuffed his hands into his pockets, his eyes returning to Percy's face. “She had stopped by the bakery on her way home. I was over at Nico's house that night, and we were both craving cupcakes.”

“Couldn't she have just made them?”

Luke chuckled. “You clearly haven't stopped by to try out the bakery yet. And the couple that runs the place is nice enough not to turn us away.” He shrugged. “Anyways, Nico's father called to ask her to pick some up for us. All we ended up getting was an anonymous call. From what my father has told me since then, it was the men that murdered her, calling to let everyone know that Maria was dead.” Luke was quiet for a long moment, swallowing a lump in his throat. “And it's never really the talk you want to have with your child. Yeah...” Luke kicked at the ground. “That was a very long night.”

Percy suddenly did not feel so well. “The cops didn't do anything?”

Luke let out a dry chuckle. “Sure, if you count letting the men sit in jail for a couple of hours. At the end of it all, the judge claimed there wasn't enough evidence to support our claims.” He was not really looking at Percy anymore, keeping his eyes just to the side of Percy's head. “That's partially why Judge Minos is one of the town's judges now. Jason's father keeps the man in line. At least having people afraid of you has some advantages.”

“So does paying them off,” Percy mumbled. Luke shot him a confused look. “You know, from the impression you gave me the other day, I thought you guys weren't that well off, middle class maybe, but then I find out you're all loaded.”

“Oh, that.” Luke rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, Percy, it's just something we don't like talking about. Our money is really the only thing most people want to associate with us for. The only time people are nice to our parents is when they want money, so we don't like talking about it.”

“And the truth?”

“Well, I didn't lie...exactly.” It was true, for the most part. “Everything east of the river belongs to our families, which we divided up to build houses on.”

“You're not going to include the town?” Percy arched a brow. “Grover told me your families pretty much own everything in the town.”

“He did, did he?” Luke rubbed his chin. The blond did not seem as cheerful anymore. Glancing back at Percy, he let out a sigh. “I suppose that is something important that I might have overlooked mentioning.” He raised his arms in a shrug. “Our families helped build the town. A lot of their money went into building everything, not to mention their blood, sweat, and tears. Out of everyone here, our families have been here the longest. We let people build their homes on our land, didn't even ask them for money. And then they attack us with their religious garbage. How is that for hospitality?”

Percy was silent. He was starting to wonder who the monsters in this town really were. The town had painted these kids and their families out to be evil, but the townspeople seemed to be more evil than any of these persecuted people. At least they did not murder innocent women on their way home.

The green-eyed boy cleared his throat, glancing around at their surroundings. “If they hate you all so much, why don't they just run you out of town?”

“How are they going to do that?” Luke arched his brow. “They're too scared of us. The 'magic' we hold over them is that if they ever do anything, we raise prices. The school lost funding for several months after Nico's mother died, until the board was forced to fire one of the teachers involved in the murder.” The blond gestured off into the night sky. “And as much as they claim to hate the stuff, most men in Aimes love their beer. How do you think they'd take not being able to buy that from the only place in town willing to sell it?”

“I'm sure torches and pitchforks can still be rounded up.” The tow boys locked eyes. “After all, this town does seem to be living a few generations in the past.”

Luke was the first to crack a smile. “I keep remembering why I like you, Percy.” He sighed and pulled out his keys. “Well, I think I need to get these two home. After all, we do have school in the morning.”

Percy nodded and turned to head to his car, but on the way stopped and turned around. “Sorry,” he called out. Luke stopped and turned around, tilting his head to the side. “For bringing all of that up, I mean.”

Luke waved it off. “Don't worry about it. I should be apologizing for not being honest with you already. Like I've said, I don't think you're like those assholes.” With a final smile in Percy's direction, the blond turned back around and proceeded to his car.

Percy let out a heavy breath as he went to his car. It had been a long night, and he could not wait to get to his bed. No amount of strange noises was going to keep him awake tonight.

How wrong he was.

He found himself inside a small house lit by candlelight. There was a soft knock at the door. A fire crackled in the corner of the small house. The woman from the hanging, the one with the timeless face dusted her hands off and made her way to the door. She snapped her fingers and a boy shot out of his chair. It was the same black-haired boy with a ponytail. He dropped the book he was holding, letting it crash to the floor.

When the woman opened the door, a man and woman stood outside. The man took off his hat and bowed his head to the woman whose house they were entering. Behind the woman stood a younger boy.

He looked to be around the same age as the other boy. But the scary thing was how eerily similar he looked to Nico. The same shaggy black hair, though this boy wore it longer, his bangs framing his face. He even had the same dark brown eyes that Nico did. But he had an olive skin tone. His shirt was loose, exposing the top of his chest.

The next person to enter the house made everything spin. It was the girl from the execution. She stood there beside the tall brown-eyed boy. Her hair was up in a bun, bonnet securely in place. Her dress was neat and covered all but her hands.

The man, presumably the father, motioned to the two children in the doorway. But when he opened his mouth to speak, a muffled sound came out. It was like hearing the conversation with ears full of cotton balls. The woman of the house inspected the girl, tilting her chin up. She spoke, but the same muffled words came out. She looked disappointed, though. It was the children's mother that stepped forward next.

She placed her hands on her son's shoulders with a smile. The woman with the timeless face looked the boy over. Whatever she said to the boy made him smile and nod. The timeless faced woman circled the boy with careful eyes. She nodded before motioning to the other boy in the house, presumably her own son.

The daughter bowed, looking up when the boy kissed her hand. With a closer look, the boy with the ponytail's eyes seemed to shine like gold in the dark lighting. When his mother placed her hand on his back, the two boys in the room stared at each other. It was just frustrating, not being able to understand what they were saying.

The boy with ponytail bowed, as did the other boy. When they looked up, the brown-eyed boy smiled, his eyes looking the slightly taller boy over. They stood up and shook hands. There was a spark of interest in the brown-eyed boy's eyes as he smirked at the boy with the ponytail.

The smoke from the fireplace seemed to swirl around the scene, slowly dissolving it away. The two boys from before sat in a field of wheat. The boy with the ponytail was staring off at the setting sun, while the boy next to him picked at a piece of wheat.

The boy with the ponytail shut one of his eyes, crossing his legs as he watched the sun slowly descend. “What doest thou think about the claims of those young girls?”

The olive-skinned boy rolled his eyes, bringing his knees up to his chest. “Possibly stumbled upon some mushrooms. Seems like the most likely explanation.” He turned his head, shutting one of his eyes from the sun. “My sister seems to have eyes for thee.”

The taller and paler of the two let out a breath, not meeting the gaze of his friend. “So I have noticed.” He glanced at the other boy. “My mother has been impressed with your studies.” He did not seem as cheerful as the olive-skinned boy. “Though, I do worry that thou are not being careful.”

“Thou worries too much.” The brown-eyed boy licked his lips, looking out at the town on the horizon. “My studies require this sort of practice. The rest of Salem will never be the wiser.” The boy with the ponytail was quiet. The olive-skinned boy smiled and stood up. Letting out a sigh, he held his hand out for the other to take. “Come on.” The taller boy remained still. The standing boy chuckled. “Come on, Kronos.”

Kronos. Kronos. Kronos. The name kept repeating, over and over again. The world began to swirl, spinning out of control. Falling away, into the abyss. Into the darkness below.

Percy shot up with a start. He quickly looked around, not recognizing his surrounding. He was in the woods, which were covered heavily in fog. It was still dark out, so Percy could barely make out anything around him.

He stumbled to his feet, his head pounding. How did he get here? Checking his pockets, he let out a groan. There were no keys on him. He sighed and looked around again. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was laying down in his warm bed, and now he was stranded out in the middle of nowhere. Not much of a change from the recent changes in his life, he thought bitterly.

Percy ran his hand through his hair as he slowly turned around, evaluating his options. It was anyone's guess at which way led him back to town. And like his keys, his phone was still in his apartment. With a heavy sigh, Percy randomly chose a direction and began marching through the woods.

\----------------------------------

A yawn escaped Percy as he dragged his feet towards his car. It had nearing six by the time Percy had gotten back to his apartment complex, and then another fifteen minutes trying to wake the landlady to open his apartment for him. Needless to say, Percy had not gotten to go back to bed. Instead, he had been forced to endure his time at school with the very little sleep he had managed to get.

He still had dinner with Luke's family later, but he was feeling a nap was in order first. Luckily, school had come to an end after an eternity. Nico had been fairly quiet during their class together, only speaking when he needed to.

However, he was getting plenty of attention from the rest of the student body. As if on cue, two girls stopped him on the grass that was at the center of all four school buildings. The taller of the two, a sports player by the looks of her, placed a hand on his arm.

“Now we all heard about your tragic time with those demon twins. The whole school is talking about it really.” She shifted the books in her arms. “I was just letting you know that the school is praying for you. Jesus talked with the sinners and all that, it's heroic really what you're doing, but everyone's scared that your soul is gonna get damned to hell.”

Percy glanced over the girl's shoulder, noticing someone approaching. “Don't be silly, we'll suck out his soul after we eat his heart.” Luke cracked a smile as the two girls scurried off, whispering to themselves. He shook his head and glanced at Percy. “You look exhausted, man.”

“I am,” Percy mumbled.

“You still okay for dinner tonight?”

Percy nodded. “I'll be there, I'm just going to grab a short nap beforehand.”

The blond laughed and pulled out a piece of paper. “Here.” He leaned forward and pointed at the scribbling on the paper. “There's our address, shouldn't be too hard to find.” He shifted Percy, facing them towards the woods beyond the school, and pointed into the distance. “You'll come to the road we turned off on to go to the river. Just keep going past that until you find a small cemetery. Right after that are the family houses, mine is the third one on the right.”

“Got it,” Percy replied, pocketing the slip of paper. “I guess I'll be there a little before six.”

“Great.” Luke smiled at him. “I'm helping Nico with a project, so he will probably stay for dinner. I'm assuming that's not a problem?”

The green-eyed boy shook his head. “Nope, not unless he has a problem with it.”

The blond laughed and started walking towards the parking lot. “Not really giving him a choice in the matter.” Luke rubbed his jaw. “Still not entirely sure what his problem is with you, though, yet.”

The two talked a little more on their way to their respective cars, sports mostly. Another unfortunate circumstance to their standing with the town, none of these kids were able to get on the teams at school. Not because of lack of ability, but because of who they were.

When they arrived at their cars, the two parted ways and Percy found himself on his way home. Just not the home he wanted to be going to. But he was thankful when he walked in his apartment and was able to collapse on his bed.

He cracked an eye open to look at his phone, which had fallen from his hand when he fell on the bed. He really did miss home, wanted to talk to someone from home. Sure he had his aunt that he talked to every now and then, but she usually just told him to “suck it up”. As loving as always.

Quickly opening his phone to shut his alarm, Percy scooted up the bed. Letting out a sigh, he rolled over on his back and shut his eyes. He needed sleep. Besides, the person he wanted to talk to was still in school at the moment. Later, he thought before drifting off into a deep sleep.

His alarm woke him up at five. He still felt groggy, but he could not be late for the dinner. Yawning, Percy sat up and shut off his alarm. He smiled and scrolled through his contacts until he found the one he wanted. Percy pressed the phone to his ear and leaned back against the headboard.

“Hello, stranger,” came the familiar voice of his ex-boyfriend. “How are things down there in the south? Gotten eaten by a gator?”

Percy laughed at the boy's attempt at a southern accent. “Hey, Alabaster.” 

“What are you up to?”

Percy yawned and stretched one of his arms. “Just woke up from a nap. Have to get ready and go over to a friend's house soon.”

“Oh.” Even though Percy could not see, he knew the smile was gone from his ex's face. “Like a...date?”

The green-eyed boy let out a sigh. “No, not like that. He's dating someone else. Besides, his father is the one that invited me to dinner.”

Alabaster let out a laugh. “So you're into old men now.” The boy cleared his throat, the sound of a car door shutting. “Sorry, just getting out of school when you called. Um, so how are you anyways?”

“I'm fine.” Percy laid a hand over his eyes. “It's been rough here, especially with no one that I know around. No sign of my family either. I'm starting to wonder if my aunt was smoking something.”

“Again?” The brunet chuckled. “But seriously, you're doing okay?”

“Yeah.”

“And...you're still moving back when you graduate?”

Percy smiled. “Of course.” He licked his lips. “I miss you.”

He could feel Alabaster's smile, without even having to hear the other. “I miss you, too. Hopefully some southern boy doesn't come along and snatch you up.”

Percy chuckled. “Well, I'm pretty sure gay boys are rare down here, or deep in the closet. I'll look for some Christmas presents tomorrow at school, see if some found any back there.” Another laugh from his ex-boyfriend. “No, there's only...two that are out at school. Possibly three that might be gay? Anyways, one is really nice, he's the one that I'm going to have dinner with. The other...well, I can say I don't think I've met someone entirely like him before.” Percy let out a chuckle

Alabaster was quiet.

Percy checked his phone, making sure the boy was still there. “Alabaster?”

“Do you like this other boy?” The way the boy said it was hard to read, almost strained.

“What? No!” Percy shot up, his eyes fully open now. “I mean, he barely wants anything to do with me. I doubt he would ever let me kiss-”

“Kiss him? Is that what you want?”

Percy let out a sigh. “Alabaster...”

The boy let out a sigh, cranking his car. “I'm sorry,” he breathed out. “I just miss you, and I hate that we had to break up over this. Not that your aunt minded; she probably hated me.”

“She didn't hate you,” Percy mumbled.

The brunet chuckled. “Percy, it's like she knew every time we were going to get heated and decided to call during that moment. It was almost scary.”

Percy smiled at the memories. “It's just motherly Asian instincts. I mean, the woman did help raise me.”

“I must resent her for preventing what would have been a great night.”

Percy grinned into the phone. “I'm sure it would have been.” He jumped to his feet and stretched. “Listen, I've gotta get ready, but I'll talk to you later. Okay?”

Alabaster blew out a breath. “Yeah, talk to you later. And I miss you.”

“Miss you, too,” Percy said before hanging up the phone. He sighed and dropped the phone on the bed. He could not be mad at Alabaster for what had just occurred. They might have broken up because of distance, but their plans to get back together still stood. So Percy could see how the brunet could still view Percy as his. And it was not like the boy had to worry about Percy cheating on him. Percy was no cheater. But his now ex had said it would be for the best, that they could pick up where they left off upon Percy's return.

Percy yanked his shirt over his head, letting it fall to the floor. He walked into the small closet that his apartment had and picked through his shirts until he found a dark blue polo shirt. After slipping it on, he made his way to the bathroom and checked his appearance. His hair was a little messy, but that was not entirely unusual for him. The green-eyed boy ran his fingers through his dark locks a few times before finding it acceptable. With a quick smile to his reflection, Percy returned to his bedroom to grab his phone and keys.

The road was less maintained the farther out he went, not that he was surprised by this. He had already traveled the road twice, and the time he spent on foot had seared the road into his mind. It was an old, paved gravel road with leaves and small branches littering it. Looking around, it felt like the trees were closing in on him, become more dense as Percy drove.

Soon enough, the boy passed by the turn for the river. He slowed down after crossing a small bridge. The road began to narrow, barely becoming wide enough for two cars to share. Looking into the woods, Percy caught sight of an old wooden house on the verge of collapsing. The trees had grown up around it, while vines spread across what was left of its exterior.

He stopped the car for a few seconds when he reached the cemetery. As the wind blew, leaves scattered across the old steps that trailed up the small hill that the grave site was placed on. The rusted iron gate swung in the wind, the latch up and preventing it from staying shut. With a small sigh, Percy continued down the old road until he reached the first house.

With the woods like they were, and the driveways appearing to be rather long, Percy was unable to see any house. On the front of the gate was the head of a boar with two spears in its mouth. The teenaged boy continued down the road until he found the one he was looking for.

Two snakes criss-crossing around a caduceus sat in the center of this gate, the same symbol that Percy found on the jewelry everyone wore from Luke's family. He parked his car at the edge of the driveway and got out to push the gate open.

Upon driving through, he got out a second time to shut the gate back. When Percy took his hands off the gate, the wind picked up. The boy stopped and frowned. He felt like someone was watching him. Jerking around, Percy was only met by his car. He shivered, feeling something cold run down his back.

Glancing over his shoulders, several leaves blew away in the wind. Percy's lips tilted down into a frown as he got back into his car. He must be imagining things, Percy thought to himself.

The driveway was longer than he had been expecting. It winded around a beautiful giant yard. Trees were scattered across the landscape, there was even a weeping willow towards the very center that the driveway passed.

And there was the house, a giant manor that looked like it belonged in the south. It was beautiful with a small balcony on the second floor and large windows on the ground floor. Columns lined the front of the house, supporting the roof. And the trees had been perfectly aligned around the driveway, making it appear that the mansion had caused the woods to part for it. It had been well kept for however long it had been standing, possibly even renovated.

Parked at the end of the driveway were four vehicles. All of them looked brand new and spotless. There was the van, which Percy had already seen, but he recognized one of the other three. The silver mustang that had picked up the twins after school was parked directly behind the van.

Percy parked behind the vehicles and turned off his engine. Taking a deep breath, Percy opened his car and stepped out into the giant yard. He stood there for a moment, simply staring up and marveling at the manor before him. It sort of reminded him of Wayne manor from the new Batman trilogy.

“There he is,” came Luke's voice from Percy's side. The green-eyed boy turned to find the blond and Nico walking towards him, carrying quite a few leaves in their hands. “I take it you found the place easily enough?”

Percy just shrugged. “Wasn't bad at all. This is a really nice place, and a really big yard.”

Luke chuckled and clapped a free hand across Nico's back. “You should see Nico's house then. It's a little bit bigger than mine.”

“Really not important,” Nico sighed. He frowned down at the green leaves in his hand. “I need the Ziploc bags we picked up.”

“Yeah, they're in my car.” Luke pulled out his keys and pressed a button on his keychain. The silver mustang chimed lightly and unlocked its doors. “There you go.”

Nico grunted and opened the passenger side door. Percy's brow furrowed. That was strange, he thought. “Didn't you have an older car, with really bad seat?” He glanced at the blond. “No offense.”

“Oh, right.” Luke pursed his lips, his brow creasing. “Um, I...got a new car.”

“In a day?” Percy asked skeptically.

Nico shut the car door and shot Luke a look before narrowing his eyes at Percy. “First you complain about us not being honest about our money, and now you're complaining about Luke getting a new car in the spur of the moment.”

Luke smiled at Nico, but there seemed to be something wrong. The blond chewed on his lip as he pocketed his keys. “Ready to go inside?” He asked Percy.

Luke led the way up the stairs, up to the giant wooden doors. Opening the right door, Luke held the door open while Nico and Percy stepped inside. He closed the door as Percy stood in awe before the house. It was...not quite what he had been expecting from outside.

The walls were pure white, the floor hardwood, so shiny that Percy could practically see himself in. The furniture was lavish and looked like it had just been purchased. There was even a fireplace in the living room. A small mirror was perched over an entry table placed across from the door against a wall. A winding staircase wound its way up around the wall next to the small table. There was even a giant flatscreen mounted on the wall opposite one of the couches in the living room.

Percy felt very small in this place. He would not be surprised if he could fit all three of the homes he had lived in growing up inside this house. And he had only seen the entrance of the house. Percy could only imagine what the rest looked like.

The sound of footsteps caught Percy's attention. Hermes rounded a corner on the staircase, dressed a lot more casually than he had the night before. Following behind him was a boy around Luke's height, but carried more muscle on him.

He had Hermes's black hair, though kept it cut short, almost buzzed. His biceps were rather large, and the boy carried himself with an air of confidence. His skin tone was like that of Leo, darkly kissed by the sun. His eyes were small in comparison to most people Percy had met from Luke's family, beady brown eyes that reminded Percy of the floors that he stood on. But the one feature that was the same was the boy's face. Like the others, he bore upturned eyebrows and a mischievous look in his eyes.

Hermes slowed down when he noticed them in the entryway of the house. “Ah, there you are, Percy.” He jumped down the last step and smiled, extending his hand for the green-eyed boy to shake. “I'm pleased to have you as my guest this evening.” Stepping aside, he motioned to the raven-haired boy behind him. “I don't believe you've met Chris yet.”

The muscular youth smiled at him. “Not yet. I'm Chris Rodriguez.”

After all Luke had told him, it had not been a surprise to find this was the other brother. “Percy Jackson.”

“I think the lady of the house is still busy with dinner,” Hermes informed them. His eyes fell upon his eldest son. “Did you and Nico finish with his project.”

Luke smiled and held up both of his hands to show the leave to his father. “Most of it. I think we can hunt through the rest of the woods over the weekend and finish up with what he needs.”

The father motioned over his shoulder. “Well, why don't you two run those up to your room and get cleaned up? You can show Percy around while we finish up preparing dinner.”

Luke smiled and nodded. He winked over at Percy before running up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Nico rolled his eyes and followed after the blond. Percy and Hermes watched them until the were out of site. The man smiled down at him before motioning to a large window that hung over a small garden.

Chris excused himself and headed around a corner. Probably the kitchen, Percy though, seeing as how he could smell whatever was cooking coming from that direction. The green-eyed boy faced the window again and just stood there, staring out at all the grass and trees that surrounded the house.

“Beautiful, isn't she?”

Percy glanced up at Hermes. “Yes, sir. It's very peaceful out here, not anything like back in California.”

The man chuckled at that. “Our families have lived out here a very long time. Not sure I could see us living anywhere else. While these houses that you see now weren't here, my family was living here even before the Civil War.” He pointed to an area just past a large tree behind the house. “I've been thinking about building some other things around the house, since we have a big yard. Perhaps a big shed right over there.”

It really was a big yard, but not much other than the house occupied it. “Were there ever tree houses or swings? With all of the kids, I just figured that there might have been some.”

“Very perceptive.” The man hooked his thumb through his belt loop and pointed off into the woods. “Since there were so many kids, a lot around the same age, we designated an area for playing. All of our families live within a short walking distance, so we chose the Dare estate.” He cleared his throat. “At the time, Hera didn't have any kids...of her own,” the man's brow creased as he spoke, “at least until she adopted Rachel. But it all worked out, I suppose.”

Once again, Percy was drawn to the sound of footsteps. Nico emerged at the bottom of the staircase. Percy smiled at him, though the boy just stared back at him before heading into a different room. The green-eyed boy let out a heavy sigh. What had he ever done to Nico?

“Sweet kid,” Hermes mused. Percy looked up and found Hermes with a raised eyebrow. Shit, Percy thought, he had been caught staring by Nico's boyfriend's father. “He stays around here a lot, so I like to think of him as part of the family, especially after his mother's passing.”

“I was sorry to hear about that,” Percy whispered.

“We all were.” Hermes cleared his throat and looked back out the window. “He used to be a handful when he was little, a endless ball of energy. It was sad to change so much after Maria's passing.”

“Dad.” Both males turned around to find Luke standing. “Let's try not to depress the guest.” He smirked at Percy, nodding his head behind him. “Come on, I'll show you around outside first, and we'll work our way up to my room.”

While there was not a whole lot in the yard, it was still a beautiful sight. It did not feel as humid today, which was also nice. There was an old barn on the border of the woods, which Luke said was from when their families originally settled in the area. There was a gazebo out back with a glass table and some chairs, even a swing on the back porch.

Luke spent nearly fifteen minutes just sharing stories from his childhood. They were not all that different, Luke and Percy. While Percy had spent most of his younger days on the water, Luke and the other kids had ran around in the woods surrounding their homes. And from the sounds of things, there was a lot of land to run around on.

Nico joined them once they were back inside the house, tagging along next to Luke and bumping shoulders with the blond every few steps. The dining room looked new, the table shining under the crystal chandelier. Hermes had even stocked a wine cabinet in the room, which was not even locked to keep the kids out. “Dad doesn't really care,” Luke had said.

There was a study opposite the kitchen, which Luke said was primarily was used by their father. The blond did give Percy a quick peek inside, only to find a fairly average room filled with a desk, office chair, an average sized bookshelf packed with old books, another flatscreen—though not as big as the one in the living room—and a treadmill.

“Dad likes to stay in shape,” Luke chuckled as he shut the door.

“Your dad looks really young.” It was true, and the same had applied to Jason's own father. Both men, as well as Demeter, looked rather young, considering their children. Especially Demeter, whose daughter was now Nico's stepmother. “He looks like he's in his twenties.”

“Ah, yes, that.” Luke chuckled as he shut the door to the study. “Well, my parents married young, and had me not long after that. Which is the case with a lot of our parents.”

“And Chris?”

Luke's eyes flickered down the long hall, presumably towards the kitchen. “Long story. Our father... How can I explain this?”

“You don't have to,” Nico mumbled, narrowing his eyes at Percy. “It doesn't matter where Chris came from, he's a nice guy.”

Percy held up his hands in defense. “I didn't mean anything by it. I just noticed he had a different last name, and looks to be Luke's age, that's all.”

Nico studied Percy for a moment, not seeming convinced. Luke smiled and nudged the younger boy before leading them towards the stairs. “I guess there's not much else to show. We'll just finish with my room. Seeing as how I respect my father's privacy, Chris is a slob, and the twins might have toxic waste stored in their room, we won't visit their rooms.”

Percy laughed as he jogged up the stairs after the blond. His eyes lingered for a moment on Nico's butt as the boy walked ahead of him. The boy should really not wear tight jeans, Percy thought. He felt wrong for looking, so he quickly cast his eyes to the floor. His parents had raised him better than that.

Luke's room was towards the end of the hall, the last door on the left. It was rather clean, not entirely what Percy had expected. “Not that he cleans it,” Nico had said after Percy made a joke.

Luke beamed at Nico and wrapped his arm around the smaller boy. “Thank you, dear,” he said, pressing his lips to Nico's cheek with a laugh. Nico squirmed away and wiped off his cheek, sticking his tongue out at the blond.

Luke's room was fairly average, aside from the size. It was definitely larger than his room back in California, possibly just a little smaller than his entire current apartment. There was a computer desk against one of the walls, and next to it an opened closet. Luke was definitely not lacking in clothes, Percy thought as he looked inside. The bed was a full size by the looks of it, a light blue comforter and white sheets covering it. There were a few sports memorabilia, school books piled on the bed, and all three major gaming consoles with his own flatscreen TV.

Luke motioned to the room with a lopsided smile. “Well, this is my room. Not super fancy, I guess.” His expression looked perplexed as he took in Percy's mild expression of awe. What Percy would not give to live here. “I mean, I guess it is a lot, but it's not a big deal.”

He had to be kidding. There was a bed-sized bean bag chair in the corner of the room! And his own mini-fridge! Turning around only caused Percy to flail his arms. There was a wall of video games and movies! How could Luke be so casual? This was heaven.

“Oh,” Luke said, motioning back over his shoulder, “there's a gaming room down at the other end of the hall. Dad put it in for all us boys to enjoy gaming, but he pops in every now and then to join us. The man's good at Grand Theft Auto...scary good.” He cleared his throat and then chuckled. “You want to see that?”

“Dinner!” Came a yell from downstairs.

“Oh, well I guess that answers that question.” Luke chuckled and opened his door, heading down the hall. With a quick glance at Percy, Nico slowly followed after the blond.

Percy took in a deep breath, casting a final look at the room. If he did have family here, he was starting to wish it was one of these families. Perhaps that was a little selfish of him, but he doubted he would ever want for anything. What person in their right mind wouldn't choose to have this life, if given the choice. He was not entirely sure what would happen to him after high school. His parents had never had that much money, and his aunt would probably get him a scholarship. Hopefully that would last through most of whatever university he chose.

Something caught Percy's attention as he was about to close Luke's door, something caught his eye. On the computer desk sat a large framed picture of a young Luke and Nico. The blond's hair was longer back then, nearly covering his eyes. The kid even had a big, toothy grin. But the thing he noticed about Luke was that there was no scar on the blond's face. Percy frowned as he stared at the grinning child. What had happened between the time this picture had been taken and the present?

Percy's eyes finally widened as he finally payed attention to Nico. The brown-eyed boy's skin was an olive complexion, just like the boy in his dream. It was almost scary how similar the two would look if Nico's skin were not pale now. He was so small, and looked so happy. It must have been before Maria's death. But how did a boy become so pale? The boy in the photo looked healthy and alive, nothing like the image of Nico in his current state. Not even like Bianca, or even Medea, who was pale, but nowhere near that of Nico.

“Percy, you coming?” Luke popped his head into the room, eyes instantly falling on the photo in Percy's hand. “Oh...”

Percy shook his head, placing the picture back where he found. “I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been-”

“No, it's fine.” Luke eyed the photo for a brief moment before casting his eyes at Percy. “That was a long time ago, almost like a dream now. He was so much happier back then, I think we all were. But I don't think anyone in our families were ever meant to be happy.” The blond bit down on his lip. “You know it's true what they say, money doesn't buy happiness. You just feel...empty...and alone. Anyways, we should get downstairs, Penelope wants to meet you.”

“Penelope?”

Luke smiled as the two walked down the stairs. “The twins mother and my father's current wife.”

“You say current like you expect me to remarry, Luke,” Hermes said as they rounded the corner of the stairwell.

Luke stiffened and chuckled nervously. “You know I'm fine with her, Dad. All of this is a lot to take in for Percy, I'm sure. I didn't even begin to cover Chris's mother having run off to Mexico and only leaving you a note, or that there was Libye, who you divorced before even having children with.”

“That was before your mother and she was a old crone that would not stop talking,” Hermes said with the wave of his hand, his eyes closed. “But I suppose you're right.” He motioned towards the hallways. “Why don't we head in for dinner?”

Everyone else had already taken their place at the table by the time the three of them arrived. By the looks of it, Percy would be sitting across from Luke, as the blond sat down between Nico and his father, who sat at the head of the table.

At the other end was a fair-looking woman with the same color hair as Travis and Connor. It flowed down over her shoulders like a waterfall, curling slightly at the ends. Around her wrist was another bracelet with the caduceus and the snakes. It was starting to click in Percy's mind that these were probably family crests.

She smiled at Percy as he took his seat. “We're so glad to have you here this evening, Perseus.”

He returned her smile with one of his own. “Just Percy, please.”

The woman gave a slight nod. “Very well. And you can call me Penelope.”

Dinner slowly went by like it would for a normal family with a guest in the house. The food was delicious, possibly the best Percy had yet to have in during his time in the south or even his entire life, and the candles that Penelope had lit filled the dining room with the scent of pine.

“So, Percy, tell us about California,” Hermes said out of the blue. “Been out there myself, but it's been quite a few years.”

“Really?” Percy smiled and finished chewing his food. “It's nice, the weather is always fairly warm. Everyone freaks out when it rains or even reaches sixty degrees.” The green-eyed boy laughed and everyone smiled. “I suppose not quite like here.”

“You can wear shorts in the winter here as well,” Travis said with a grin.

Chris shrugged. “Yeah, but the humidity makes the wind feel really cold.”

“You'll have to make sure you get a jacket then, if you didn't pack one,” Penelope said, wiping her mouth.

Percy glanced across the table when things fell quiet for a moment. Not that he wanted to admit he had been staring, but he had noticed that Nico was not eating very much. The pale boy sat there, poking at his food with his fork. Luke seemed to take notice as well and he leaned in to whisper in the brown-eyed boy's ear. For a brief moment, a pained look appeared in Nico's dark orbs before he speared a piece of beef and stuffed it into his mouth, his face contorting into displeasure.

Hermes cleared his throat to get Percy's attention again. “And you're here looking for your father's family, is that right?”

Percy took his eyes off of Nico with a frown. He met Hermes's mischievous blue eyes with a wry smile. “Yes, sir, though I've had no luck so far. Apparently there aren't any Jacksons around here.”

“Can't say that there are.” Hermes took a sip of wine. “What was your father's name anyways?” His eyes flickered up to Percy, staring at him curiously.

“Um.” Percy blinked. He felt like he was under a microscope all of a sudden from the way the man was staring at him. “Don, sir.”

Hermes grunted and took another sip. “Afraid I've never heard of anyone around here ever having that name either.”

Dinner continued on with little small talk, though Percy quickly became aware of the watchful eyes of Hermes that seemed to always be on him. Had he done something wrong? Percy had been trying to be as polite as possible.

When Hermes went to open his mouth again, Luke cut him off. “Dad, leave him alone. You always told us it wasn't polite to stare.”

“So I did.” Hermes finally smiled and held up his glass. “My apologies, Percy, I was just trying to see if I could place your face with anyone I knew.” His lips tilted up as he took a sip of his wine, a spark flashing in his eyes before he looked away from Percy.

“May we be excused?” Luke asked, sitting down his fork. “I thought I could show Percy the game room for a little while until he needs to leave.”

Hermes nodded, choosing not to answer verbally. The twins grinned and shot out of their chairs, and were up the stairs before Luke and the others could even stand up. Luke just chuckled and pushed his chair under the table before leading the other boys towards the staircase.

Now that they were going at a slower pace, it allowed Percy to take some time to look at the family photos that decorated parts of the house. There were quite a few, detailing each boy in the family and their development over the years. One detail that he was quick to pick up on was the lack of photos of Luke after receiving a scar. At least there weren't that many in the hallways.

Most were family portraits, but there were also individual photos that had been placed throughout the house. Percy stopped in front of one. Luke slowed down when he noticed and let the others move past him. He smiled as he stood beside Percy, reaching out to pick up the family portrait on the small hallway table.

“That one was taken shortly after the twins were born.”

Percy glanced the family over before his eyes lingered on Hermes. “Your dad hasn't aged much over the years.”

The blond shrugged. “Good genes, I guess.” He chuckled and nudged the raven-haired boy next to him. “Just don't go hitting on my dad, if that's where your mind is going.”

“Gross.” Percy made a quick face, but soon smiled and nudged Luke back. “So what are we playing?” He asked. Luke grinned wickedly as he opened the door that the other boys had disappeared into.

\---------------------------------------------

“You two are horrible cheaters,” Luke sighed as he reclined on the long couch that the family kept in the gaming room.

And that was exactly what it was. A giant projector worked as the monitor for the gaming consoles that were stored in the room. So not only did Luke have all the consoles, but another set was in this room as well. When Percy had asked about that, Luke said it was to ensure that anyone could play whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. And the speakers were amazing, almost like a movie theatre. The couch even had cup holders.

The group had decided on Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii. But since it was only for four people, two had to sit out. The twins were taking turns with one of the controllers, while Nico would randomly accept Luke's controller and play for the blond for a short period of time.

The twins both stuck their tongues out at Luke. “You're just a sore loser,” Connor mocked.

“It's not like they actually had a way to cheat,” Nico jumped in, his legs strewn across Luke's lap. Luke pouted at the boy, who rolled his eyes. “Stop being a baby and accept that they beat you.”

The blond continued to pout, placing a hand on the brown-eyed boy's leg. “Why do you have to take their side? You like me better, you're supposed to side with me.”

Nico smirked and let his head drop onto his shoulder. “You're such a child.” Letting out a yawn, the pale boy pulled out his phone. “It's getting late, I should probably get going.” Nico stood up and stretched.

Luke placed the controller beside him, standing to his feet. “You're not staying here?”

“I've got that thing in the morning.”

“Oh.” Luke pursed his lips. “Well, okay.”

Percy got to his feet as well. “I guess I should probably head home as well.”

“Well damn,” Luke mumbled, “everyone's leaving.”

“It is a school night,” Chris reminded his brother.

“Yeah, yeah.” Luke waved the muscular youth off before opening the door. He let out a sigh and motioned for Percy and Nico to head out. “I'll see you both off.”

As they stepped into the hall, Percy's eyes fell upon the door opposite them. It was completely sealed, not even a crack under the door could be seen. And on top of that, the door was locked and bolted from the outside.

“What's in there?” Percy asked.

“Nothing,” Luke replied quickly. He casted his eyes to the floor before motioning down the hall. “It's not important, just some...things-”

“Things Hermes keeps around,” Nico interjected. He bit his lip and shot Luke a glance, who had his eyes hidden behind his blond bangs. “We should go.”

When they got to the bottom of the stairs, Nico hugged Luke. The blond buried his nose into the boy's raven locks, Nico's arms wrapped tightly around him. “I'll come pick you up in the morning,” Luke whispered as they pulled away.

Percy scratched his cheek and looked away. He wondered if he should let them have a moment to say goodbye. Percy had the feeling they were just being polite and refraining from kissing in front of him. Nico stepped out the door, tossing Luke a smile as he stepped outside.

Luke shook Percy's hand. “I guess I'll see you in the morning as well.”

“Yeah,” Percy replied before heading out as well. When the door shut behind him, he jogged to catch up to Nico. “I can give you a ride, if you want.”

“No thanks.” With only moonlight, Nico's face was hard to make out. But he was there, right next to Percy. The one advantage of Nico being pale was that it at least allowed Percy to make out where the boy's face was. But Nico's expression was still unreadable, and he did not appear to even look at Percy when speaking. The boy randomly came to a stop. “I didn't mean it like that. It's just that I live right next to Luke.”

“Oh.” Percy gave a nod, glancing between Nico and the ground. He rocked on his heels, unsure what to do. They were both just standing there, staring at each other. “I guess I'll, um, see you later.”

“Yeah,” Nico mumbled. He cleared his throat and looked away.

Percy nodded, pursing his lips and pulling out his keys. Perhaps it was for the best. Percy unlocked his car and opened his door.

“Um, Percy?”

The green-eyed boy turned around to find Nico standing there, rubbing his arm awkwardly. “Did you need something?”

The brown-eyed boy motioned with one of his hands, as if he were indicating an area behind him. “It's just that I'm not really ready to go home yet, but I've been crashing with Luke for the past two nights and I feel like I'm starting to be a burden.”

He chuckled. “I doubt Luke thinks you're a burden.”

“I stay there a lot,” Nico mumbled. The boy ran a hand through his hair, not meeting Percy's eyes. “Home's...not my favorite place to be a lot of nights.”

Was Nico abused? Was something going on? Percy shut his car door, placing his hands back into his pockets. “Well, do you want to go driving around with me?”

Nico eyed the car for a second before shaking his head. “Would you just walk with me for a moment? I just need a little bit more time before I go home.”

“Sure, we can do that.” Percy took in a breath before stepping over to where Nico stood. “Where shall we go?”

The boy pointed down the driveway. “Don't really care where we go, just want to walk.” Without another word, the boy slowly began walking down the long driveway. Percy jogged to catch up, falling into step beside the shorter boy. “You don't have to do this, if you don't want to.”

Percy smiled cheekily. “Wouldn't be here if I didn't. I will get you to be my friend.”

Now that they were out from under the majority of the trees, the light allowed Percy to witness Nico rolling his eyes. “You're a dork. But I suppose you're the best I've got for the time being, aside from going back to bother Luke.”

“You're so kind.” Percy grinned and slid his hands into his pockets. “I can see why people like you so much, you just have this sensitive aura about you.”

When they reached the road, Nico took a left, kicking at a small rock. “I don't really care if people at school, or even the town likes me. What do they even matter? All they'll ever see is what they want and they'll never be able to see past the veil of blindness that is covering their eyes. For all the good they claim to do, most Christians just like to throw their weight around and force their beliefs on others.”

“They might argue the same about you, assuming you support things like gay marriage.”

“I do.” Nico glanced at Percy from the corner of his eye. “But that's different. What they are doing is discrimination, telling me I can't do something because of something a book says. One that may not even be accurate.” The boy let out a sigh, kicking the rock and sending it sailing down the old road. “On the other hand, it's not pushing in the same way. It's not like they have to go and have a gay marriage, or even attend one. But it's not right to make it wrong for others to do that, especially if they don't believe the same.”

“Wow, you're opinionated on that subject,” Percy chuckled. The taller boy shrugged. “I didn't mean to sound like I was arguing. I wasn't raised as a Christian, and I definitely don't support homophobia. I would kind of being hating on myself if I were to do that.”

Percy's eyes roamed the woods as they continued to walk. It was so dark out, and the trees made it almost impossible to see. And to make matters worse, the road had no street lights. The closest things to street lights that the old road had were candles that burned on either side of the iron gates that led to the houses. There was also a lot of noises, including howling. But Nico did not seem to be bothered by it, so he remained silent about the issue. However, would it have killed Nico to have brought a flashlight?

When they reached the first house, Percy slowed down for a few seconds. They were nearing the cemetery. “I'm sure you broke a lot of girls' hearts,” Nico said after a moment, breaking the silence.

“Not really, I'm still bisexual. Girls are pretty.”

Nico made a face. “Their female parts are gross.”

The taller raven-haired boy smiled. “Come on, you don't like them even a little bit?”

“I'd rather dye my hair pink and parade around in a dress.” Nico looked in Percy's direction, though it was too dark to make out the boy's face. “Their boobs are comfortable, that's about all I've got for you.”

Percy laughed loudly, slowing down. Nico came to a stop in front of the pathway that led up to the cemetery, facing Percy with an amused look. The green-eyed boy cleared his throat. “Well, I suppose that's something. Though, going back to what you said, my first girlfriend did break up with me when I came out.”

“Why's that?”

“She was afraid I was going to cheat on her with a guy. Apparently, it automatically makes me a whore to be bisexual.”

Nico gave a small nod, biting lightly on his lip. “That's pretty harsh. Any truth to that accusation?”

Percy's lips tilted down. “I'm a very faithful guy, never cheated in my life and don't plan to.”

The pale boy shrugged. “Never say never.” He sighed and glanced behind him. “Sorry, I just usually come here when I'm trying to clear my head.” Crossing his arms, Nico turned back to Percy. “Lot more quiet than my house.”

Did Nico's father fight with his stepmother? Or perhaps with one of the kids? What if the stepmother didn't like the kids? “I'm sorry,” Percy whispered.

Nico shook his head, slowly moving back towards Luke's house. “It's okay. We don't have to go in there. I'm sure most people would be freaked out to go into our old family cemetery.”

Percy reached out and grabbed Nico's arm. The brown-eyed boy turned to give him a curious look. The tan boy smiled down at Nico. “Then it's a good thing I'm not most people.”

In the moonlight, Percy could make out Nico's brown orbs searching his green ones. He could understand Nico being distrustful of people, but he really wanted to show the guy that he was not like that. For whatever reason that was. Percy was already friends with Luke, so he knew it would be a good idea to try and be friends with the blond's boyfriend.

He quickly cleared his throat, releasing Nico's arm. “I mean, unless you don't want me going in there.” It was a little late for that, but Nico did not need to know that. “It's your call. We can just keep walking up and down the road until you're ready to go back for all I care.”

Nico's dark eyes pierced through him like daggers in the moonlight. The boy was silent for a long time, which began to make Percy nervous. But, eventually, Nico let out a sigh and ran his hand through his messy hair. “It's fine. Not anything that great about the place that you'd probably be interested in.”

Percy followed the shorter boy up the stone steps until they reached the iron gate. Placing one hand on it, Nico pushed it open. It creaked so loudly as it opened that the hair on Percy's arm stood up. Nico motioned inside and Percy walked forward. After they were in, Nico closed the gate behind them.

Sliding his hands into his pockets, Nico took off walking through the old graves. With a quick glance in the mausoleum’s direction, Percy followed after the pale boy. It seemed much quieter now, save for the crickets and owls. And without any trees hanging over them, Percy was able to make out Nico's appearance much more easily.

The brown-eyed boy came to a stop in front of a stone angel. At the very bottom was a name carved into the stone. Maria di Angelo.

Percy swallowed the lump in his throat, placing his hands in his back pockets. “I'm sorry,” he whispered. Nico looked up at him with furrowed eyebrows. “I mean I was sorry to hear about your mother. That was...” He let out a breath. “This town is very fucked up.”

“You have no idea,” Nico mumbled, turning his gaze back upon his mother's grave.

Glancing around, Percy came to a realization. If he was correct, they were standing in the same spot that the creepy man he had met was standing after Percy had went to leave. “Um, Nico?” The boy turned to face him again. “Is your father rather young looking, with dark hair and a pale complexion? And maybe some scary eyes.”

Nico's lips formed a thin line. He knelt down, placing a hand on the grave. “He already told me he met you here. I was thinking about asking what you were doing out here, but then I figured I'd just let it go.”

Percy's cheeks tinged pink. “But back there-” He flailed his arms, pointing back to the road. Nico arched a brow at him. “You-I-but you made it sound like you thought I hadn't been inside here before.”

Nico grinned at him, standing back to his feet. “Maybe I'm a liar.” He took a step forward, a twisted look in his eyes. “Maybe I lied about all of that stuff, and maybe I just wanted to get you out here so that I could rip out your heart and drink your blood.”

Percy yelped as he fell backwards over a grave. Nico started laughing, shaking his head lightly. The green-eyed boy pouted, pushing his bangs out of his eyes. That was not very nice, Nico was almost believable. When Nico finally calmed down and he stared down at Percy, a smirk appeared on his lips. There was a dark spark in the boy's eyes, flashing dangerously at Percy.

“That's not funny,” Percy mumbled.

Nico shrugged. “I thought it was funny. Don't you trust me?” He laced his hands behind his head, shifting his weight.

Percy's eyes flickered down to some exposed skin that had emerged when Nico's shirt lifted from the movement. He had seen the boy shirtless before, but there was something about the color of the boy's skin in the moonlight that made it all the more enticing for Percy.

Nico was not available, Percy reminded himself.

Letting out a sigh, Percy looked away. Not only that, but Nico did not seem all that interested in him. Not that Nico seemed to let a relationship get in the way of things, Percy thought bitterly. Should he mention what he saw?

Percy's eyes traveled up from the ground, landing on the tombstone he had tripped over. Blinking a few times, his brow furrowed. It read: Tartarus di Angelo. Another relative of Nico's? Perhaps Hazel's father?

The grass shifted beside Percy, and when he looked, he found Nico sitting next to him with his legs pulled up to his chest. The green-eyed boy turned his attention back to the onyx headstone that sat in front of them. “Hazel's father?”

The brown-eyed boy lightly shook his head. “Just an ancestor. Never got to meet him myself.” He shrugged, his eyes dully staring at the name. “Nothing really important.”

He was not sure why, but the grave seemed to stand out to him. Percy kept staring at the name, though nothing came to him. It almost felt important to him. But he knew that he had never seen the name before, or even heard it. And when it clicked in his mind that they were sitting on the guy's buried corpse, Percy quickly jumped up.

Nico stared up at him with an amused look. “Scared of the dead?” He grinned and got to his feet, slipping his pale hands into his pockets. “Afraid that my ancestor is going to rise from his grave for sitting on him?”

“It's not funny,” Percy mumbled.

“It is a little bit.” Nico smiled and took off walking.

In the darkness, Percy's green eyes observed the shorter boy as he paced around the small cemetery, glancing at a few tombstones that he passed. Percy wondered what went on inside that head of Nico's. The kid was quiet, but he had a lot of interesting things to say when he opened up. And here in the graveyard, Percy wondered if he had a twisted side to him. Something about the glint in Nico's eyes had caught Percy off-guard.

When Nico came to a stop in front of the mausoleum, Percy made his way over to the brown-eyed boy. His green eyes examined the weird figures on the stone that blocked the entrance. “What's this?” He decided to ask.

Nico let out a short breath. “Just an old family crypt.”

“For who?”

The boy shrugged. “All of the families used it. I guess they thought it was a good idea to seal it off when civilization found its way down here.” Nico slowly rubbed his palms together before turning to Percy. “I think I'm ready to head home now.”

The walk back was quiet, Nico keeping his head down for most of the walk and kicking at rocks that they passed. How the boy found them in the dark, Percy would never know. He could barely make out the hand in front of his face, let alone a tiny rock on the paved gravel road that they were walking on.

When they got back to Luke's house, the two stopped in front of the driveway. Percy was not really sure what to say. Nico's eyes roamed the woods around them, almost like he were distracted by something. A faint chill ran over Percy's arms, giving him goosebumps.

Nico licked his lips and finally focused on Percy's face. “Um, so, Hermes might have seen that your birthday is coming up in a few days.”

Percy gave a slight nod. “The eighteenth.”

“Well,” Nico began, “the others were thinking that you shouldn't be alone on your birthday. And we didn't know if you had any plans, so they thought we should invite you over.”

Percy was stunned. “You don't have to get me anything. I mean, you guys just met me and I really don't need a party. I was just going to call home, or something.”

The boy held up his hands. “Don't look at me, it was Luke's idea. But,” Nico's eyes flickered up to stare into Percy's green eyes, “I don't think anyone should be alone on their birthday.” Staring into Nico's brown eyes, behind those long eyelashes, almost made Percy's heart stop. “And I know how you must feel. After losing my mother, all I wanted for my birthday was for her to be there. It's been a few years for you, sure, but it doesn't change how a child feels after losing their parents.”

“Yeah,” Percy whispered.

“So you should come over. I'm sure Demeter will bake you a cake.” He smiled and playfully punched Percy in the arm. “Maybe we can even go swimming at Silena's house.”

Percy suddenly felt like their proximity was too close. The boy's pale lips in the moonlight were starting to become enticing. He wanted to feel bad, he really did, but something about those dark eyes and the way Nico looked in the night was almost sinful. It was like the boy was made for the dark. And then it hit Percy that Nico did not seem as exhausted tonight, did not seem as sick anymore.

It was not until Nico pulled back and cleared his throat that Percy found himself reaching out to fix a strand of the boy's hair. Nico lightly bit down on his lip, drawing the attention of Percy's eyes. “Thanks again for walking around with me,” Nico said with another clear of his throat. He shifted his weight, wrapped a hand around his other arm, and looked up at Percy again. “I'll see you at school,” he whispered.

Percy let out a long breath as Nico walked off, disappearing into the darkness. This was beginning to become a problem. Nico was beginning to become a problem. He did not want to cause problems with Luke, not after the blond had become such a good friend over the past few weeks. But there was definitely something there between him and Nico, even if the other boy did not want to admit it. While the brown-eyed boy may have not been Percy's usual type, there was something that drew Percy towards him.

But he knew nothing would ever come of that. Nico was with Luke, and Percy would never stand a chance. He could not compete with someone that Nico had known his entire life.

Running a hand through his hair, Percy slipped inside the gate. However, he came to a stop once he had closed it behind him. He froze. Percy thought he saw something in the corner of his eye. When he turned around, his heart nearly exploded. Nothing was there but the long shadow of a tree branch hanging above him. Still, he once again had the feeling that he was being watched. And in the darkness, it only put Percy more on edge as he walked back to his car.

Once he had his key in the door, Percy looked around Luke's yard. He kept thinking he saw something just out of the corner of his eyes. But when he looked, Percy found nothing. With another quick look around, Percy opened his door and cranked the car.

The teenaged boy slowly drove down the driveway, half expecting something to jump out of the woods. If it were the Stolls, Percy would not have been surprised. When his car reached the gate, he sat there for a moment. He was going to have to get out. And if horror movies had taught him anything, it was that something bad always happened when the person had to get out of their car.

Letting out a short breath, Percy worked up the courage to open his door. Wanting to quickly get back inside after closing the gate, Percy left his door open. Quickly pushing the gate open, Percy jogged back to his car. He glanced down to shift gears, and when he looked up, Percy nearly screamed.

There was Nico, standing in the middle of the road. His head was down, casting shadows over his eyes. Percy wiped a hand down his face, falling back against his seat. He slowly pulled his car into the road before shifting it back into park.

Percy rolled down his window, raising an eyebrow at Nico. “Did you forget something?” Perhaps it was best not to tell Nico that he nearly pissed himself upon seeing him.

A frown marred the boy's face as he looked up. His eyes were so dark that it was hard to distinguish them from behind his black bangs. It was like staring into the abyss. “Thought I heard something, thought I'd come back and check.”

Percy looked around the dark woods. “Didn't hear anything. Maybe it was me cranking my car?”

It really unnerved Percy that he could not see the boy's eyes. It was impossible to tell if Nico were looking at him or roaming the woods. “I knew you were going to crank your car, idiot,” Nico said darkly. A long pause passed by, where Nico simply stood there. Nico finally moved, tossing his thumb down the road. “You should go, it's getting late.”

Percy did not argue. He nodded and rolled his window back up before driving away. Perhaps he had not been imagining things, perhaps there had been something in the woods. If Nico had come back because of it, surely there must have been something. He glanced in his rearview mirror, only to find Nico gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been too consumed with Destiny and spoilers the past few days to actually function, but I hoped you enjoyed the chapter.


	7. Spotting the Grim

It was a small gathering in front of the stairs. Everyone present carried a glass of red wine, lifting it towards the boy that stood at the foot of the stairs. The same boy that looked like Nico. He smiled so confidently at the crowd as they clapped for him. His clothes were fairly different, though he still looked the same, just with slightly shorter hair that now came to just above his shoulders.

The brown-eyed boy held his head high, shoulders back, as he smirked and raised his own glass. The woman with the timeless face came to stand in front of him, blocking the line of view for a brief moment. As the woman stepped back, the brown-eyed boy slipped something underneath his shirt.

The boy's mother stepped forward to hug the boy, though she seemed a little sad. She whispered something into his ear before stepping back. One thing was for sure, the girl from the hanging was nowhere to be seen. However, Kronos was present.

Kronos leaned against a wall, his eyes locked onto the boy the celebration seemed to be for. The brown-eyed boy caught Kronos's eye and nodded with a smirk. There was something different now about those eyes, something dark seemed to reside there. Kronos simply nodded back, though he did not seem so cheerful.

As the party drifted on, the group moved into the dining hall, where food was being served. As the brown-eyed picked out his food, his eyes roamed over to where Kronos was talking to a girl around his age. The boy narrowed his eyes.

She was so beautiful, with golden blonde hair and dazzling blue eyes. The boy's lips tilted down as he watched them. Setting his food aside, the boy grabbed his glass of wine and made his way over to them.

“Enjoying your party?” Kronos greeted him.

“It is quite the event,” the boy that looked like Nico replied. His eyes flashed over to the girl with a look of distaste. As his eyes finished their glance over, his lips turned down.

As the girl raised the glass to her lips, it slipped from her hand and shattered onto the floor. “Oh no, I'm so sorry,” she said quickly, crouching down to try and pick up the shards.

Kronos kneeled down beside her and assisted her. “It's all right, Rhea, accidents happen.” His eyes flickered up warningly to the brown-eyed boy, who had a smirk on his lips. “May I have a word with you?”

The boy shrugged. “But of course.”

Once out of the hall and out of earshot, Kronos pushed the boy into a white pillar that stood several feet from the door. “What is wrong with you?” He tilted the boy's chin up. “I'm starting to worry about you, ever since-”

The boy's eyes flashed dangerously and smacked Kronos's hand away. “We swore we would not discuss that out in the open,” he hissed. “I rule now and we agreed that it would be for the better.”

Kronos let out a sigh. “Is this about what I told you the other night?”

Those dark brown eyes became dull as they stared back at Kronos. The boy crossed his arms. “I don't care what you do, run off and do as you please,” he motioned to the dining hall, “as you already are.”

“I will be fine,” Kronos assured the other boy. His eyes shined like true gold as he put on a smile. “I will be back before you know it, unharmed.”

“It doesn't involve us,” the boy mumbled.

“It does,” Kronos replied. He let out a sigh and crossed his arms. “We've been the best of friends, let's not fight on your day. I was part of this, and your secret will always be safe with me.” Licking his lips, Kronos reached into his shirt pocket. Whatever he pulled out, he handed it to the other boy, who clasped his hand around it. “Take it.”

“Kronos,” the boy whispered. He stared down at whatever it was like it was something that made him sad. The boy seemed uneasy about holding it, even biting down on his lip. He looked up to meet the other's eyes. “Are you sure you want to give me this?”

“More sure than I've ever been.”

The boy's face seemed entirely different now, like it had during Percy's last dream. It was soft and the hint of a smile began to appear on the corner of his lips. “But you only get one.”

Kronos gave a nod. “And I want you to have it. You and I have been through so much now, it just seems fitting.” He pulled the boy in for a hug. The smile melted away from the brown-eyed boy's lips, his eyes growing sad and distant. “Just think about it while I'm gone. And make sure to keep it safe. Like you said, I only get one.”

When the boy pulled back, he stared down at his hand. As his fingers opened, a small vial of liquid could be found there. Those dark brown eyes flickered up to stare at Kronos from behind black bangs. A small nod was the only reply that Kronos received.

Percy's eyes snapped open to stare up at the white ceiling above him. He did not move, merely laying there to think for a second. It was the first dream he had in a week, though it was definitely longer than his previous ones.

The week had gone by and it was Sunday now, his birthday. The boy sighed and tossed his legs over the side of his bed. Running a hand through his black locks, he sat there in his boxers with a strange feeling coursing through his body. These dreams left him still feeling tired, like he was not actually sleeping when they happened.

He just did not understand why he kept having them, and why the centered around the same people. Dreams were supposed to be random, or so he thought. In all honesty, Percy found himself wishing that he could just go back to having no dreams at all, rather than continuing with this series of dreams.

Getting up, Percy stretched on his way to the bathroom. Today would hopefully take his mind off things. He was expected to be over at Luke's house in two hours, and was only told to bring a pair of trunks to swim in, should they decide to head over to Silena's house for a swim. And Luke had also promised him that he would meet the rest of the kids. It had to make Percy wonder how big these families were.

Percy let out a long breath and opened the small glass door that led out onto his small balcony. It was so stuffy and humid today, even with the air conditioner running. Closing his blinds so that the air could still filter in but no one could see inside his apartment, Percy slipped out of his boxers as he headed down the hallway to his bathroom.

After only a few seconds under the hot water, Percy was forced to make the shower mildly cold. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back once he found a decent temperature. How could it be so humid that he would rather have a slightly cold shower?

Since he was not having to worry about the water getting cold, Percy took his time. It depressed him to think that showering would be the closest thing he would get to the water, unless he got to continue going over to Silena's house for a swim or the kids took him back to the river.

After he was finished, Percy wrapped a towel around his waist and went back to his room, where he picked up his phone from the nightstand beside his bed. There was a missed call from his aunt. He made a face as he wiped a hand across his chest. It was already covered in sweat from the heat filtering in from outside. Groaning to himself, he went to the hall and fiddled with the air conditioner to make it colder.

Opening his phone, he tapped his aunt's name and put the phone to his ear. As it rang, Percy shut his balcony door now that the air conditioner was running. It had barely rang twice before his aunt picked up.

“Hello? Percy? Were you still sleeping when I called? Get out of bed, lazy boy,” came his aunt's unforgettable voice, thick Chinese accent and all.

Percy plopped down on his bed. “No, Aunt Xi, I was getting a shower. Those friends that I told you about are throwing me a party for my birthday.”

Judging by the sounds of water that he could hear, Percy was going to assume his aunt was in her garden to water her plants. “Oh yes, that is good. I'm glad you're making friends down there, Perseus. I know you think I'm being hard on you, but this is for the best.”

“It's not the worst I've been through,” Percy mumbled under his breath.

“What was that?” His aunt snapped, the sound of water stopping.

Percy's eyes widened and he sat up straight. “Nothing! I was just saying what a good job you did at raising me for the past few years.”

Without even seeing her, Percy knew his aunt was narrowing her eyes at the phone. “You better be doing your homework if you know what good for you.” An idle threat, Percy knew this by now. If she really wanted to scare him, she could come up with much worse. “I just wanted to call and wish you a happy birthday, since I could not see you in person today.”

Well that was her own fault, Percy thought to himself. He cringed instantly. His aunt seriously scared him sometimes with things. There were times that he had to wonder if she could read his mind. There was even one time that he and Alabaster almost managed to go farther than kissing, and the second Alabaster put his hand in Percy's pants, Percy's phone rang. And that was just one of many occasions. She never hinted at knowing what he was trying to do when she called, but that woman had some scary good timing.

Percy had long since wondered if he would have to wait to lose his virginity after his aunt died. If she died. The woman was as stubborn as they came.

“Thank you,” Percy finally whispered. The boy fell back on the bed and covered his eyes with his arm. “I don't suppose you'd consider letting me return early, would you?”

His aunt's signature laugh came echoing through the phone. Well, he already knew the response he was going to get. “Oh, Percy, you so funny. No, no, I think you're going to want to stay there, you know, once you find that family you're looking for.”

Percy rolled his eyes. Doubtful.

“Don't roll your eyes at me, boy,” the woman snapped.

Percy cringed. “Sor-” Percy stopped and uncovered his eyes. Furrowing his brow, Percy pushed himself up to look around his room. Out of nowhere, a strange feeling had come over him.

The sound of one of his kitchen cabinets closing drew his attention. Reaching beside his bed, Percy picked up the baseball bat that he kept there.

“I'll talk to you later, Aunt Xi,” Percy said before hanging up.

Slowly opening the door, Percy crept out in the hall, clad only in his towel. Once he felt close enough, Percy jumped into the living room, bat poised behind his head.

Nothing.

His green eyes scoured the area, but found absolutely nothing. His mind kept racing with the question: did someone break in through the open balcony door while he was in the shower? If they had, Percy would have heard the door open, but he knew he had not. And so the search began.

After nearly an hour of turning over every inch of his apartment, Percy gave up. There was no way anyone was there, and there was no possible way for anyone to have gotten out during his search. Even when he had been getting dressed, Percy had kept an eye and an ear out for any movement in the apartment, and yet there was no trace that anyone had even been inside.

Giving up on his quest, Percy checked the clock. It was nearing one in the afternoon, which meant he needed to hurry and head over to Luke's house. Sending off a quick text to Luke, Percy left his apartment and headed down the stairs to his car.

The second he closed the car door, a crow landed on his car, spread its wings, and let out a caw. Since no one was around to see him, Percy would go to his grave swearing that he did not jump. The fact that his heart was now racing was merely a coincidence. Narrowing his eyes at the bird, Percy honked his horn. However, it did nothing to deter the bird, which hopped along the hood of his blue car and continued its crowing.

The weird thing was that Percy could have sworn that it was looking at him. It turned its head and stared at him with those beady black eyes before leaning down to peck at an acorn that had landed on Percy's hood.

Losing his patience, cranked the car. If the bird wanted to stay, it could enjoy the ride. But, as soon as Percy shifted into reverse, the bird took off. Percy frowned and watched it fly into a nearby tree, where it continued to caw and torment him from afar. Whatever, he thought as he backed out of his parking spot.

There were a few extra cars in front of the Castellan house when Percy arrived, though it was hard to say how many people were actually there considering everyone in their families lived right next to one another.

As he got out of the car, Percy really had to stop and admire the house. If one could even call it that. It seemed more like a mansion, in Percy's opinion. And so beautiful. Percy never thought he would be saying that about a house, but it was true. What it must have been like to have been raised in a home like this, with a family like them.

The green-eyed boy knocked on the door, but it slowly opened in front of him. Quirking a brow, Percy stepped inside and wandered around for a few seconds, slowly following the sounds of whispering. Until he reached the small sun room that the family had at the edge of the house, where he was apparently meant to go.

“Happy Birthday!” Several of the kids greeted him.

“Uh, hi,” Percy chuckled with a wave.

Looking around quickly, he quickly realized there were a lot of kids. A lot. Aside from Hermes and Penelope—who were the only adults that Percy could spot—Percy counted twenty kids. Twenty!

Luke held up a glass and smiled at him. A sharp pain shot through Percy's head and he pinched the bridge of his nose, shutting his eyes. Clapping pounded in his head.

“A toast, to the new head of the house.”

More clapping and a flash of the boy that was not Nico smiling. Everything seemed to spin, yet no one was clapping. Everyone seemed to be talking amongst themselves, while Luke his made his way towards Percy. He grabbed the green-eyed boy and guided him over to a corner.

“You okay?” Luke asked, tilting his head to catch Percy's eye.

After a second, Percy nodded. “I'm fine,” he whispered.

Luke patted him on the back and guided them both forward. “So, you're probably feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment, seeing quite a few new faces.” A grin broke out across the blond's face. “However, I can assure you that this is not all of us.”

“Oh my god,” Percy breathed out. “How many kids did your parents have?”

The blond chuckled. “Well, some are cousins, and some are from our parents' different marriages.” He leaned in to whisper into Percy's ear. “Though, I wouldn't go asking Nico when his father is going to bang Persephone. I don't think he's accepted yet that the two have sex.”

“You must want to die today.”

Luke stiffened at the sound of Nico's voice from behind them. Percy and Luke turned around to find an annoyed Nico standing there with Annabeth and Thalia, who were both trying to hide their laughter. Nico's eyes flickered over to meet Percy's green ones.

In the past week, Nico had barely said two words to him. Even in class, the most Percy could usually get out of him were grunts and nods. It was like the boy was trying to develop a code for Percy. A grunt meant no, while a nod obviously meant yes. But that was barely the tip of the iceberg. At lunch, Nico would sit as far away from Percy as possible. And he would even push Percy away if he thought they were standing too close. Percy was beginning to wonder if he smelled.

But, only to confuse him more, Nico held out a plate with some cake on it for Percy to take. “Happy birthday,” the brown-eyed boy whispered.

Percy smiled and accepted it, raising the fork to his mouth to take the first bite. It was so good he could barely contain a moan. Annabeth, Thalia, and Luke laughed. “Demeter made the cake,” Annabeth said.

Percy gave a nod and smiled at Nico. “You'll have to thank her for me.”

“Yeah,” Nico mumbled before walking off, Thalia hot on his heels.

Luke just shrugged. “Don't mind him, he's just been moody lately.” Throwing his arm around Percy, he guided them towards the others, while Annabeth followed along beside them. “So, I guess we have a lot of introductions to make.

Most faces, Percy already knew. There was Luke, Annabeth, Nico, and Thalia, of course, but Percy found he knew a good majority of the kids. Jason sat on a couch with Leo, who was tinkering with the blond's phone. Jason looked like he might be sick as he watched Leo take it apart. Bianca was making her way over to where Nico had gone with Thalia, smiling at Percy on her way. Hazel was with Frank and another girl that Percy did not know. A very scary girl at that.

Silena was in Beckendorf's lap, sitting in a swing across from Leo and Jason. Piper was behind the cake, guarding it from Travis and Connor. And then there was Malcolm, Chris, and Rachel, who were busy chatting with two other kids that Percy did not know.

He only had to meet three kids, that was not so bad. In all honesty, he had expected even less than all this to have turned up. After all, he had only met these people a few weeks ago. And yet, they had all taken him in rather quickly.

Luke took him over to where Rachel, Chris, and Malcolm were standing next to a window with the other two kids. All of them stopped and smiled or waved. Chris even gave him a nod. “Having a good birthday?” The brunet chuckled.

Percy finally smiled. “Not too bad. More than I was expecting, we'll just leave it at that.”

“We wouldn't want you to be alone on your birthday,” Annabeth said with a smile. She did have a pretty smile, Percy thought.

Luke motioned to the group. “Well, you already know my brother, and I believe you've met Malcolm and Rachel.”

Percy nodded. “I have classes with both of them.”

“Well,” Luke motioned to the other two, “here we have Lacy and Katie.”

Katie held her hand out first. Her skin had a very healthy and natural glow to it, and her smile was incredibly bright. Though, one could also nearly miss the specks of dirt under the girl's nails. She had her black hair braided and thrown over her left shoulder.

“Nice to meet you,” she greeted him.

Lacy was short. That was the very first thing that came to mind when Percy looked at her. She even had to tilt her head back to be able to look him in the eye. She did have a nice, friendly smile, though, braces and all. Which might explain her height, now that Percy thought about it. She was probably young, perhaps thirteen or so, if he had to guess. Even her blonde hair was drawn up in pigtails, only adding a more youthful appearance to her already young face.

“Hi,” the girl said meekly.

Percy smiled. “I was worried when Luke said there was even more of you. Sort of made me think I'd be overwhelmed by new people here,” he chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck.

Rachel was busy stuffing her own mouth with cake. “So good,” she mumbled around a mouthful of it. Once swallowed, she raised her eyes to meet Percy's face. “And we even got you some presents, because it wouldn't be a birthday without them.”

The green-eyed boy blinked. “Oh, no, you guys really didn't have to do that.” He did not want to sound rude, but he felt a little bad. After all, as he had said, Percy was not as well acquainted with these people as he would like to be, especially if it was involving presents. He barely knew anything about them.

Malcolm waved it off with a small laugh. “Don't worry about it, man, it's not like it's really hurting us.” The scrawny blond boy motioned out the window behind him. “The rest of us already dropped our swimming clothes over at Silena's house. We figured that we'd head over after eating and you opened your presents.”

“I hope you like your presents,” Lacy said cheerfully.

Luke pressed on Percy's back and began to guide him away from the group. “Sorry to steal the birthday boy away so quickly, but I've still got to introduce him to the only girl that could probably win a fight against the entire football team.”

The group chuckled and tossed Percy a wave. Annabeth smiled and waved as well, opting to stay beside her cousin's side to talk to Rachel. Percy turned to Luke. “Should I be nervous?”

Luke chuckled. “Nah, she's harmless, so long as you don't cross the line.” The blond came to a stop behind the giant of a girl that Percy had spotted earlier. “Percy, meet Clarisse, my brother's fair maiden.”

Frank and Hazel placed hands over their mouths to hide their smiles, while the girl's shoulders stiffened. “I know you're not talking about me, Castellan,” she growled. Turning around, she narrowed her animal-like eyes at them. “So this is the new kid?” She grunted and crossed her arms. “I expected more.”

Luke just grinned. “Clariss is Frank's sister.”

“And older and the better fighter,” she added snidely.

Frank just rolled his eyes, while Hazel leaned up to whisper in his ear. Percy held out her hand to shake, though she never took it. The girl raised an eyebrow at the offered appendage before raising her own hand to take a sip of punch.

Luke chuckled and led Percy away from again, slowly leading the green-eyed boy over to the cake that Demeter had made. “Don't mind her, she's not always so grumpy. She just takes a little warming up to...and even then she'll take some time to not want to smash your head in.” The blond winked and picked up a small plate with a slice of cake on it.

Percy nodded and worked on finishing his own cake off. They really did not have to get him anything. Just being able to swim was enough of a present for Percy. Glancing over to the corner Nico sat with Bianca and Thalia, Percy found his presents placed on a small table. Judging by the amount, he was going to assume some people got him individual presents. He sighed, his plastic fork resting between his lips.

After everyone had their fill of cake and snack food, Percy was taken before the table of presents. People were looking at him, waiting to see which present he chose first. Reaching out, he picked a present from the top of the pile. It was from Leo. It was clearly a magazine or a comic, judging by the shape and size of it.

Though, as soon as the wrapping was off, Percy wished Leo had warned him. Inside were two magazines of the adult variety, one with women and the other with men. Percy's ears burned as he wrapped them back up. There was some snickering from behind Percy, while others like the twins gave Leo a high-five.

Piper rolled her eyes. “Really, Leo, you got him porn?”

“What?” Leo shrugged innocently. “The guy lives by himself. I figured he got lonely.”

“Uh,” Percy began, unsure of what to do with the magazines, “thanks?”

Leo grinned mischievously at him before receiving a punch to the shoulder from Beckendorf. “Way to keep it classy,” the big guy grumbled.

“What?” Leo shouted while rubbing his arm.

The next present was from Luke, which hopefully meant that it was safe to open.   
It was definitely bigger, and heavy enough that it required Percy to use both hands. The second the wrapping came off, Percy nearly choked.

“You got me a PS3?” Percy practically shrieked, his voice coming out higher than normal.

Chris pushed a small package across the table. “And I got you some games to go with it.”

Percy stared at the two brothers with wide eyes. “You guys didn't have to spend that much money on me.”

“What? The new model will be out in a few months, so it wasn't too expensive,” Luke replied casually. “Besides, like Leo said, you probably get bored in that apartment. And I didn't want you to not have anything to do if we weren't able to hang with you.”

“I don't know what to say,” Percy mumbled.

Luke chuckled and threw his arm around the raven-haired boy. “You don't have to say anything, just enjoy.”

Percy slowly worked his way through the presents. The last one was wrapped in the shape of a thick book, sitting at the very edge of the table. To be precise, it was a cook book that contained every southern cooking recipe imaginable. Turning the book over several times, Percy found no name attached to it, not even on the wrapping. It was not until the last turn that a note fell out of the book, landing at Percy's feet.

Bending down, Percy picked it up. Scanning it over, Percy felt his lips tilt up. There was no name attached to the note, but he still knew who it was from.

Maybe now you can be useful in class, and won't be incompetent while trying to feed yourself at home.

It made him happy and confused at the same time. He had already gotten a present from the di Angelo family, so he had figured that one would have counted for a present from Nico. And, yet, here was one directly from the brown-eyed boy himself. Looking up, Percy tried to catch Nico's eye.

But the boy was nowhere to be found. And before Percy could try to find him, Luke threw out the suggestion that they go swimming. Percy decided to leave his presents at Luke's house while they went swimming, since he would have to return for his car.

“Let me go get my trunks from my car,” Percy told Luke as the group made its way out Hermes's back door.

Luke nodded. “Okay. I'll meet you in the backyard, near the edge of the woods.”

Percy nodded and jogged to the front of the house, where he opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. When he got to his car, something caught his eye, though.

Sitting in a small swing under a large tree to the side of the house was Nico and Jason. The raven-haired boy sat with his back to the armrest on the side of the swing, knees to his chest and facing Jason. The blond was smiling, one of his legs tucked under him as he used the other to push the swing.

But unlike the other night, the two seemed more relaxed being alone with each other. Nico tucked some of his hair behind his ear and smiled as he said something to Jason. Percy wondered if perhaps he should tell Luke, if the blond did not already know. Luke seemed like a really nice guy, so why would Nico cheat on him? Perhaps they were not as happy as they seemed to be, or perhaps Nico was not happy with Luke. There was no telling what went on when Percy was not around.

Nico looked up at Percy as the green-eyed boy approached, though he did not seem to be bothered by the fact that Percy saw him with Jason. Though, why would he? At the end of the day, the fact also remained that Nico probably knew Jason as long as he had Luke.

Jason got up when he noticed Percy standing there. He smiled. “I take it everyone is heading over to Silena's house?”

Percy nodded. “Yeah, I just needed to get my swimming trunks,” Percy replied, holding up the dark blue trunks that he carried in his hand.

As promised, Luke was waiting by the edge of the woods. A smile crossed his lips when he noticed their approach. “Oh good, you found Nicky and Jase.”

Nico narrowed his eyes. “I swear I will cut off your most prized possession if you call me that again, Castellan.”

Luke just grinned and bumped Percy's shoulder, leading the way through the woods. “He's just grumpy from lack of sleep.” Raising his voice so the other two could hear better, Luke looked over his shoulder. “He loves me!”

“Don't hold your breath,” Nico said through gritted teeth. A swift punch came from the boy, colliding with Luke's back. “And he doesn't need to know about any lack of sleep that I've had.”

Luke grinned at Percy, earning him another punch from Nico. “So, Percy, has anyone caught your eye around here yet?” Luke asked, bumping shoulders with the green-eyed boy.

“Uh,” Percy chuckled nervously, scratching his cheek. He did not feel like it would be appropriate if he told Luke his boyfriend was attractive, so Percy needed to lie. “Not really.”

He wanted to say that it was not a total lie, but that would be yet another lie. Glancing back at the very brown-eyed boy that he had been thinking about, Percy frowned. He still was not sure what it was about Nico that drew his attention. Percy was still just trying to convince himself that it was purely physical and that there was no real interest there. Perhaps it was just those dreams he had been having. The boy did look like Nico, so perhaps it was just Percy's subconscious tricking him. Because, if he had to be honest, Nico was not Percy's usual type. And he doubted he was Nico's either.

Percy glanced at Luke from the corner of his eyes. Although, Luke was attractive himself, and in good shape. Perhaps Nico did go for the athletic types.

“That's a shame,” Luke sighed. Percy stiffened a little, realizing that he had drifted off into his own thoughts. “I'm sure you could find someone. I mean, all the girls at school seem to be interested.” Luke cleared his throat. “Someone smart would scoop you up before it was too late.”

Luke suddenly let out a yelp and fell to the ground, his face landing on the dirt trail that they walked on. Nico, who had been walking behind the blond, casually stepped over Luke. “Better watch where you're going,” the brown-eyed boy mumbled as he kept walking.

Jason chuckled and offered Luke a hand. “He is cranky today.”

The shorter blond jogged to catch up to Nico. Percy watched as the blue-eyed boy chuckled and whispered to Nico so only the two of them could hear. Luke dusted himself off as they kept going. “So, you must be excited to be swimming. All those trophies that I saw, you must have been good.”

Nico glanced back at them and Percy quickly looked away, his ears burning. “I was okay,” he mumbled.

“That's modest talk. I'm sure you don't think you're attractive either.” Luke suddenly threw an arm around him. “He's attractive, right guys?”

Jason turned around and began to walk backwards. “Yeah, he's okay. Not ugly enough to go ringing bell towers just yet,” the blond teased.

“What do you think, Nico?” Luke asked.

Nico turned to shoot Luke a dark glare. “We're not playing 'ask the openly gay boy if he thinks a guy is attractive' game.”

Luke and Percy managed to catch up to the other two, where Luke took the opportunity to throw his arms around Nico. “Don't be so grumpy. If you're good, I'll let you snuggle with me tonight.”

A twisted smile crept its way across Nico's face. “Perfect, it'll give me the chance to cut off your penis.”

If Percy had not been aware of the situation, he probably would not have been so observant or thought to keep an eye on Jason. But he did know what was going on, and he was keeping an eye on the blond ever since Luke put his arms around Nico. Jason's lips had tilted down and his eyes seemed to reflect Jason's thoughts of wanting to rip Luke's arm off.

What happened next truly made Percy wonder if Luke was ignorantly oblivious or very much aware of Jason and Nico. The tall blond leaned in and pressed a kiss to Nico's cheek, which the raven-haired boy allowed. Nico's shoulders relaxed and he narrowed his eyes up at Luke when the blond pulled away.

“I hate you sometimes,” the shorter boy mumbled.

When they exited the woods, Percy came to a stop. Unlike Hermes's house, the Beauregard yard was being made full use of. At the edge of the house was the giant pool that they would be soon swimming in, diving board and slide included. Stone steps led down to the grass, curving outwards on both sides of a stone fountain with a small cherub shooting water out of its mouth on top. And as the yard came out, there was even a small maze with lampposts sticking out every so often. And, across the yard, Percy spotted some horses and a stable.

“Wow,” Percy breathed out.

Luke nudged the awestruck boy. “Come on, we can get changed inside.”

Lucky for Percy, the kids seemed to know a shortcut through the maze. Though, to be honest, it should have been expected. By the time they arrived at the house, they found several of the kids already swimming and a few others lounging around.

Luke motioned to the glass doors that stood open and led inside the house. Nico and Jason disappeared inside. And, where they had once stood, a tall woman with heels that could be heard from miles came clacking out of the house.

She looked like something out of a magazine. Her long, blonde hair nearly reached her back as it bounced about from behind her. The sunglasses she wore reflected Percy and Luke, while her teeth nearly blinded the raven-haired boy from how bright they were. Her skin matched that of Percy's, perfectly kissed by the sun. Her nails and lips had both been painted a cherry red.

And then there was her attire, or what she wanted to pass for attire. The woman had on a bikini top and a pair of ripped blue jean shorts. And her heels probably gave her one or two inches to her height. Percy wondered how women could endure such footwear, it looked so painful.

She smiled and held out her hands, offering both of them some lemonade. “I was wonderin' when you boys were gonna show up,” the woman said. This woman spoke like the very definition of the word Souther Belle. The accent was absolutely perfect for being one.

Luke smiled and accepted the glass of lemonade. “Sorry. Oh, Percy, this is Silena's mother, Aphrodite.”

Even the way she shook his hand was the epitome of how a southern lady would act. Like some noble woman, she grasped Percy's fingers and shook them gently with the back of her hand pointed out towards Percy.

From there, she reached up to cup Percy's cheek and examine his face. The green-eyed boy glanced at Luke uneasily when the woman tilted his face up to get a better look. “Well you didn't tell me he was so handsome, Luke.” Her attention returned to Percy's face. “Well you're just a doll, sugar.”

Thankfully, Luke was his savior. The blond gripped his shoulders and steered him towards the house. “Sorry to steal him away, but I think he wants to do some swimming.”

Percy was able to breathe a sigh of relief once he was inside. “For some reason,” he began, “I was not expecting to be hit on by a cougar during my time here.”

“I wouldn't let my mom hear you call her a cougar,” Silena said, coming down a flight of stairs. She chuckled, which was like honey to the ears. “Mother can be very vain when it comes to her looks. She might just have to go dipping into her special creams if she overheard that.”

Luke laughed at that. “I guess I should have warned him about your mother on the way over.”

Silena nodded with a smile. “My bedroom is open, if you two want to change in there.” She raised a brow at Percy. “I mean, assuming you're okay changing in front of Luke.”

Percy just shrugged. “It's not like I've never had to do it in the locker rooms.”

“Fair point.” The girl stretched and headed for the back door. “Well, I'm going to do some tanning, I'll see you both outside.”

“See ya, Silena,” Luke chuckled.

Silena's bedroom was about the same size of Luke's, though much more feminine. Judging by the cowboy hat and boots that were in the room, Percy was going to assume Silena loved the horses her family had.

Percy kept looking around the room while he removed his clothes. It was a fairly ordinary room, with a few things that Percy took note of. Sitting at the head of the bed was a teddy bear holding a heart. If Percy had to guess, he would assume it was from Beckendorf. The necklace that Percy had also seen her wearing was placed on a dresser nearby Luke, which the blond placed his own necklace on once he was out of his shirt.

Kicking off his boxers, Percy frowned. “So, how many other kids are there?”

Luke turned to look at Percy, when he realized Percy was standing there naked. The blond cleared his throat, his eyes flickering around. “Um,” another clear of the throat, “well, that's complicated.”

The blond, honestly, did not have a bad body. In fact, Luke looked really good standing there in nothing but his boxer-briefs. Though, the blond did not seem to be as comfortable staring at each other naked, if him slowly lowering his underwear was anything to go buy. And the ass! Luke really was attractive. How could Nico even want to cheat on the blond?

Luke picked up his trunks and worked on slipping them on, all the while Percy stood there in the nude. “Well, some of our parents had some kids a while back, so they are older. Jason and Thalia have two older siblings, who both have families. Oddly enough, Jason and Thalia are the aunt and uncle of Leo, Frank, Clarisse, and Beckendorf. Long story with all that.

“Um, you've met all of Nico's immediate family. Hazel lives with them after her parents died, and she doesn't have any siblings. Let's see, I have a cousin named Butch, whose mother is my dad's sister. You already met Apollo. Well, his parents died a few years back, so it's just him and his sister, who is, technically, in the Nightshade family.” Luke frowned and pursed his lips, rubbing his arm. “But her husband died several years ago, so she only has Zoë. And Silena and her brood have one cousin that you haven't met yet, though he doesn't live around here and he's technically an adult. And then there's Frank and Clariss, who have two older brothers that live in the next town over.”

“Holy shit,” Percy chuckled.

Luke grinned. “Oh, I'm not done.” He sighed while Percy slipped on his swimming trunks. “Beckendorf and Leo have another brother. There's another set of twins: Castor and Pollux, who are still in the eighth grade. And they have an older brother, who just graduated, by the name of Dakota. Annabeth has an older brother, who is attending school with Apollo.” The blond chuckled as Percy's eyes slowly widened. “And if only to confuse you more, Katie is Demeter's daughter, which sort of makes her Nico's step-aunt through Persephone.”

“This is very hard to keep up with.”

Luke shrugged. “You get used to it. Oh, and Katie has a younger sister named Miranda. And Rachel was adopted by Hera, which would have made her Jason and Thalia's sister if Hera had been there mother.” He chuckled at the confused look on Percy's face. “Okay, so maybe it is a lot to keep up with and a bit confusing.”

Luke took pity on Percy's now hurting head by opening the door and suggesting they get to the pool. The second Percy was beneath the water, he felt like his problems simply melted away. He had almost forgotten how relaxed he was under the water. The river, sadly, did not cut it.

Unfortunately, there seemed to be some truth to Luke's words from earlier, because he was getting some stares when he found himself on the edge of the pool. Mainly from the Beauregard family, minus Silena. Though Drew had not come to his party, she was sunbathing by the pool. Or had been, before she spotted Percy sitting there wet and half-naked.

But it wasn't just females or the kids from Silena's family that stared. Mitchell was also ogling his body over, which did not go completely unnoticed by Nico, who was actually in the pool and swimming, unlike their time at the river. Aphrodite was also staring, though she might have been the most disturbing.

Percy pushed his wet bangs out of his eyes as he stared at the woman, who was rubbing an ice cube across her stomach. It was clear that the woman had no shame in letting Percy know she was sending him subliminal messages.

There was a man sitting beside Aphrodite, though. He had hair like Piper's, as well as a matching skin tone. Though, unlike the woman next to him, he was busy weaving something in his hands.

Percy nudged Luke. “Who's that?” He whispered.

Following Percy's line of sight, Luke smiled. “That's Piper's dad and Aphrodite's current husband, Tristan.”

Time always seemed to pass by faster for Percy when he was in the water, and this time was no exception. But, thankfully, it was still early and the day and no one had to be anywhere. However, as it neared the hour mark, Percy needed to slap himself.

His problem was that his eyes kept wandering. And to where exactly? To Nico, of course. No matter if the boy was swimming or sitting on the edge of the pool, Percy found himself wanting to stare at the boy. He was very cute when wet, not that Percy would ever admit that out loud. And it was not like it meant anything to make a casual observation. Of course not, that was perfectly natural. But the way the water dripped off of Nico's pale, smooth skin was very distracting. And, while he was scrawny, Nico did have a nice figure, Percy would not lie. Long legs, thin waist, dimples on his back, and lips that practically begged to be kissed-

Wait, what? No. Percy did not need to think like that. With a groan, Percy sank beneath the water once again. The fact that Nico looked really good with wet hair also did not help matters.

What was happening to him? Percy had never felt so drawn to someone before, it was almost a little scary. All three of his past relationships had all gone smooth and casual when he asked them out. So why now? He barely knew anything about Nico, so it was not like he could possibly be in love, he was still rational enough to know that. So what was it?

It was like there was a physical pull, a link between them, jerking Percy towards Nico, and he did not understand why. Maybe those dreams really were starting to mess with his head. But all that aside, Nico was not available. And even if he was, Percy did not want to hurt the boy just for some physical fling for the remainder of Percy's time here.

Needing air, Percy swam to the surface. From there, he moved over to the edge of the pool and pulled himself up. He padded over to where he put his towel, dripping as he went. And fully aware of several eyes on him as he did so.

Once again, Percy's green eyes roamed over to where Nico was sitting in between Luke's legs on a lounge chair. The blond was being very enthusiastic as he spoke, going as far as to use his hands. Nico rolled his eyes at whatever they were talking about, mumbling something to the blond and shaking his head. Luke sighed and pouted before pulling Nico more onto the chair and massaging the boy's shoulders. Grinning so that the boy between his legs could not see, Luke leaned in to whisper in Nico's ear. Without warning, Nico's eyes darted up to Percy.

Percy let the towel fall over his head, blocking Nico from his line of sight. Had he known Percy was staring, or perhaps they were talking about him? But why would they talk about him? Percy pulled the towel back, so that it simply rested on top of his head. Nico still had his eyes on Percy, chewing on his lip. He turned his head and whispered something to the blond, something that Luke seemed disappointed by.

Someone cleared their throat behind Percy, drawing the green-eyed boy's attention from the couple on the lounge chair. Mitchell stood before Percy, smiling brightly. “I don't think we've been formally introduced yet. I'm Mitchell.”

Percy nodded. “Percy. Though, I suppose you already knew that.”

Mitchell continued to smile. “Of course. But, then again, I suppose the whole town knows who you are. As I'm sure they also know that you've been spending time around all of us.” Placing his hands on his hips, the boy turned to look at the pool briefly. “Enjoying your swim?”

Percy nodded, rubbing his hair through the towel. “Yeah, it's been fun. I really have missed being able to go to a pool, though.”

The brunet pulled his hand up to shoulder level, wrist bent back slightly. “Well, you're always welcome to come over for a swim. I can give you my number if you'd like, and then you could just text me to come over.”

“Um...” Percy fidgeted slightly. This guy was like his mother, clearly not bashful about hitting on Percy. The raven-haired boy glanced over to where Nico sat. The boy was still watching them, though this time he was clearly not happy. Not angry, just frowning. Though, Luke seemed to be slightly more upset than Nico. “Maybe another time, yeah?”

There was a dark glint in Mitchell's eye, clearly not happy about being turned down. The smile, however, remained in place. “Sure.” His eyes roamed down Percy's body. “I think, for my birthday, I wouldn't mind having a guy like you wear a speedo and a bow. That would be a good present.” With a wink, he turned and walked off to where Piper was braiding Lacy's hair.

That left Percy standing there a little shocked. He heard things like this fairly often back in California, but he really had not expected people around here to be so openly sexual. When he had moved across the country, Percy had honestly been expecting some pure and chaste town that somehow had miracle births through religious faith and never had sex.

Shaking his head, Percy put his towel down. Nico had gotten up, and now looked to be heading towards the house. Wanting to thank Nico for the present, even if it had been simple, Percy headed after the boy. Once inside Nico crossed the threshold, Percy jogged up to the boy. Reaching out, Percy grabbed Nico's wrist.

When Nico turned around, Percy found it was no longer Nico. It was the boy that looked like him, the one from Percy's dreams. There was a look of panic in the boy's eyes as he jerked his arm away. But it was no longer Percy's arm. Kronos now stood where Percy had been, and Percy himself did not seem to physically be there at all, but rather an invisible observer.

They were back in Salem, where night had fallen on the town. A few townspeople pass them by, though they do not seem to pay the boys any attention. The brown-eyed boy keeps his head down as two women pass before looking up with panic in his eyes once again.

Kronos sighed and brushed his hair out of his eyes. “Calm down, there is nothing to worry about,” he whispered.

The other boy shook his head. “No, she hast seen,” the boy that looked like Nico hissed back.

“Thou art exaggerating.” Kronos grabbed the boy when he made to run again. “Calm thyself, please. We do not know what she hast saw, so we have no need to panic at this time.”

“She saw!”

Kronos narrowed his eyes, jerking the boy closer. “Keep thine voice down,” he hissed.

The other boy glared back at Kronos. “And if she did in fact see, what then?” Leaning in, he lowered his voice to make sure only Kronos could hear him. “How far would you go to protect the secret?”

Kronos's eyes searched the boy's brown orbs in the dark. But, before Kronos could answer, there was a snapping noise. It kept getting louder and louder, while the two boys faded away into smoke and darkness. Percy's eyes widened as he was brought back to find Nico's fingers snapping in his face.

“Hello, Percy? Are you there?”

The green-eyed boy shook his head. “Um, yeah, I'm fine. I guess I zoned out a little.”

Nico tilted his head to the side. “A little? You were gone on me for at least two minutes.”

“Sorry,” Percy whispered. He reached up and wiped a hand across his face. “I, uh, wanted to tell you thanks.”

“For what?”

Percy's head felt foggy now, and he found it hard to think. And when he finally fully came back to reality, he found another distraction in the fact that Nico was standing there in only his swimming trunks.

When he noticed Percy staring, Nico crossed his arms over his chest. “Can I help you? Because, if not, I'm just going to get a drink,” he said with a hint of annoyance.

“Oh, right.” Percy cleared his throat. “I, uh, just wanted to thank you for the present.”

Nico quirked a brow at him. “For telling you that you needed to not be useless in class? No problem.” He patted Percy on the shoulder. “Happy to help, really.”

Percy rolled his eyes. “You didn't have to get me anything, and I already had a present from your sisters. Well, I suppose just Bianca, since I doubt Medea is the type to give gifts.”

“Oh, she does, if you're a member of one of our families,” Nico said with a shrug. “But, really, it wasn't a big deal. Luke said you didn't really know how to cook much of anything besides oriental food, so I thought you could use it.” The boy's head tilted to the side again. “Which reminds me, how do you have an Asian aunt?”

Percy chuckled. He was not surprised this question had come up. In all honesty, he had been expecting it. “She's not genetically my aunt. She was just a friend of my parents. I grew up around her, so when my parents died, she got custody of me as was my parents' wish. Though, after learning I had family still, I have to question why they didn't send me back here.”

“Can't say I blame them,” Nico mumbled.

“Um, so, you wanted to get a drink?”

Both of Nico's eyebrows rose. “Oh, right.” He motioned into the nearby kitchen. “You want something?”

Percy did not answer. As he followed the pale boy, his eyes had taken notice of the fact that Nico's trunks were a little loose on his hips and were slightly lower on the left side. Unfortunately, they seemed to be saved by the boy's ass, which were managing to barely keep them up. When he noticed Nico stop, Percy quickly lifted his eyes. “Um, what?”

Nico quirked a brow at him. “Are you sure you're all right?” Reaching into the fridge, the brown-eyed boy pulled out a pitcher of lemonade. “You don't look like you've been sleeping very well,” he mumbled as he poured himself a drink.

Percy's shoulders slumped. “Is it that obvious.”

“Only to someone who doesn't sleep much themselves,” Nico mumbled as he raised his glass to take a sip.

Percy frowned down at the cabinet as Nico poured a second glass. “Why don't you sleep?”

Brown eyes flickered up for a brief moment before returning to the drinks. “Who said I was talking about me?” Nico smirked. “I could have been talking about Annabeth, or perhaps Leo.”

“Leo's too hyper to not be sleeping,” Percy chuckled. He slid the cup that Nico had poured him closer before raising it to his lips. “But it's not like I haven't noticed. When school first started, you were practically falling out of your chair.”

Nico shook his head lightly. “It's nothing, I'm fine.” Percy was not convinced, but he kept his mouth shut. “I already get enough from my father, Demeter, Persephone, Luke, Jason, Annabeth, Bianca, and Thalia, I don't really need you to add your concern to that list,” the boy mumbled, taking another sip. “But I'm flattered the oh so attractive Percy Jackson takes the time out of his day to stare at me. Now I'll have to write your name in my binder at school and draw hearts around it.”

Without even changing the tone of his voice or batting an eye, Nico had completely mocked him. Well, two could play at that game. Percy smirked. “So you think I'm attractive?”

“Whoa, let's not get distracted here, there are more important things to think about.” Nico leaned his hip against the counter. “I mean, now I'm going to have to think about what I'm going to wear to prom, if you're taking so much time to stare at me.” The boy finally smirked. “Maybe if you used all that time trying to learn how to cook in class, you wouldn't be so bad off.”

Still playing along, Percy reached out to touch Nico. “Well, maybe you shouldn't be-” The second Percy's hand touched the boy's skin he was forced to draw it away. Nico's skin was like ice, and yet a burning sensation had surged through Percy's fingers the moment they had made contact.

And, clearly, Nico had felt it too. The boy had jerked away as well, looking down at the spot Percy had touched him in confusion. “What the fuck was that?” The boy whispered.

Percy tilted his head to the side, inspecting his fingers. “Maybe I shocked you?” His fingers still tingled, and he could feel a warmth coursing through his being, slowly spreading out from his fingers and working its way even down to his toes.

Nico furrowed his brow. Slowly, he held up his hand. When Percy looked at him weird, Nico sighed. “Touch me again,” he grumbled.

“Oh.” Percy held up his hand, slowly reaching out towards Nico.

Nothing. Nico's skin was still cold, but there was no warmth or strange feeling this time. Nico grabbed Percy's wrist, then his shoulder, and finally the center of Percy's chest. Nothing. Nico began chewing on his lip.

“Maybe it was just a shock,” Nico muttered.

It was at this moment that it dawned on Percy at how close they were standing. He practically had Nico pinned against the counter, and Nico seemed to realize it as well. The boy's eyes lowered to Percy's chest a single time before he cleared his throat and maneuvered around Percy.

“I better get back outside,” Nico whispered as he slipped out of the kitchen.

Percy wiped a hand across his face, letting his head fall back. He needed to stop. Nico was not his type, and he did not need to try hitting on the poor guy. He nearly jumped when Luke poked his head in the kitchen.

“There you are. So, I think everyone's done swimming for the day. If you want to grab your clothes, we'll head back over to my house and chill for a little bit,” the blond suggested.

Percy nodded his head. “Yeah, sounds good.”

Luke disappeared out of the kitchen, leaving Percy alone with his thoughts once again. Was it a good idea to spend more time around them right now? Or, more specifically, Nico. Yet, he was not really ready to go home. The more time he spent around them, the more he enjoyed the company of these outcasted kids. And to him, everyone else in town were the weird people.

After finishing off his lemonade, Percy headed up the stairs to retrieve his clothes. He found Aphrodite in the master bedroom, sitting in front of a vanity mirror while applying makeup. Or had been, because when Percy found her, she was just staring at her reflection.

Percy opened the door to Silena's room and slipped inside. Luke's clothes were already gone, which meant the blond must have been up here before coming to find Percy. Gathering his things, Percy headed back for the door when something shattered.

Stepping quickly through the door, Percy jogged down to Aphrodite’s room. The woman still sat in front of her vanity, though the mirror was now laying in shards on the wooden desk. The blonde woman had her hand covering her mouth as she picked up a shard from the destroyed mirror.

“Um, are you okay, ma'am?” Percy asked.

The blonde woman took in a deep breath, though her eye remained on the broken mirror. “Oh, Percy, you startled me.” She finally looked up and smiled. “Silly me, I guess I'm a little clumsy.” If Percy did not know better, it looked like the woman wanted to cry, judging by the red eyes. “I, um...” She rolled her hand in the air, like she was trying to think of what she wanted to say. “I'll need to get a broom.”

Percy took a step forward. “I can help clean that up.”

A sharp nail was pointed at Percy's face. “No!” Her face softened as she noticed Percy's startled expression. “I mean, no, that's quite all right. It's your birthday after all, you don't need to worry about such labor.” Her eyes returned to the shards of broken glass. Aphrodite slowly rubbed the back of her hand. When she noticed Percy still standing there, she raised her hand to the side of her face to block Percy's view of it. “I think Luke was wanting you to go back to his house.”

Nodding to her once, Percy took his leave. Taking the steps two at a time, he made his way outside, where he found Luke, Travis, and Connor waiting. The blond smiled at him as he approached. “There you are. I was beginning to worry you got lost in the house.”

Percy chuckled. “No, I was just talking to Aphrodite, she seemed a little upset. Don't know how she managed it, but she said she broke her mirror.”

Luke's blue eyes roamed up to the window that must have been Aphrodite's bedroom. “Okay, well, I suppose it's nothing to worry about.” His words may have said as much, but Luke did not seem convinced himself. The smile had vanished from the blond's lips as his eyes continued to watch the open window. “Silena or one of the other kids will take care of it.”

Percy nodded and followed after the three siblings as they made their way down the steps. “So, is Chris and Nico not coming back with us?”

Luke perked up again. “Well, Chris is spending the evening with Clarisse. Not sure what time he'll be back, but there was talk of football. And Nico was feeling tired, so Bianca took him home.” He nudged Percy's shoulder with a smile. “You know, as much as he might hate to admit it, I think he's warming up to you. Don't tell him I said that.”

Percy chuckled. “I won't. He's cool, when he's not being so closed off or trying to scare me.”

Travis and Connor suddenly appeared beside Percy, grinning like madmen. “So, Percy, what kind of birthday would it be without a magic trick?” Travis said with a sly grin.

Luke shook his head. “Not today, Travis,” he sighed. “Besides, Percy's too old, this isn't some eight year old's party.”

Percy shrugged. “Doesn't bother me.”

Connor's grin widened as he reached into his pocket. Luke narrowed his eyes in response. “No, you really don't.” Connor stopped and frowned. “Believe me, you'd probably get physically injured, knowing them.”

“That's so hurtful,” Connor said, shaking his head.

“You both nearly got expelled for blowing up the science lab.”

Travis leaned an arm on Percy's shoulder. “He's exaggerating. There was just some smoke and a little fire, no big deal.” Percy glanced at Luke, unsure of where this might go. Maybe a magic trick was not the best idea. “Besides, what's the worst that can happen?”

“You could send him to the hospital on his birthday,” Luke muttered under his breath.

The twins both pouted. “You don't trust us,” they both whined.

Luke rolled his eyes. “Fuck no. I can barely trust you to stay out of my room when I'm not home.”

Connor scrunched his lips. “You know, the projectile ink canon was really unnecessary.”

Once they were back at the house, Luke took Percy upstairs to the entertainment room and had the birthday boy pick out a movie to watch. While Percy tried to make a decision, Travis and Connor ran downstairs to make some popcorn and get some drinks for all four of them.

Percy ended up staying until it was nearly dinner. Penelope offered to feed him, but Percy needed to get home so he declined. Now that school was in full swing, the boy had already found himself with a paper and an upcoming test that needed to be dealt with.

Placing his still drying swimming trunks on the top of his car, Percy fished out his keys. Catching sight of something from the corner of his eye, Percy glanced up.

Standing there, at the edge of the woods, was a big, black dog. Huge might be the better term for it. And it was watching him, or so it seemed. The dog just stood there and stared in Percy's direction. As Percy went to unlock his door, the dog began to growl. Oh god, Percy thought, he needed to get in his car.

“Percy!” It was Luke. With panic in his eyes, Percy looked at the blond, who was standing on his front porch. “I hope you had a good time and your birthday wasn't too lame!”

Percy quickly shook his head. He opened his mouth to tell Luke about the dog, but when he looked back, the dog had vanished. Percy scanned the woods, but there just was no trace of the dog. He had not imagined it, had he? Well he was not on anything, so that was not likely.

Clearing his throat, he turned back to Luke. “It was great, actually.” Luke grinned back at him. “Thanks again!”

As soon as the blond was back in the house, Percy jumped in his car and held onto the wheel. He was not sure why the dog was getting to him so badly, especially when it had done nothing more than growl, but Percy's entire body was filled with dread. Cranking his car, Percy's body spasmed in a shiver.


	8. A Brush with Death

In all his years, Percy had never been so thankful for October to arrive. Not because of any love for the holiday at the end of the month—not that he had anything against it—but because it meant that the air was finally cooling off. Even the simple act of getting into his car would often leave Percy with feeling like he was being slapped in the face by the sun.

And nighttime with the cooler weather might have become Percy's favorite time to be outside in this town. Unlike back home in California, he could see the stars so clearly. It was nice to just lay out in the grass and stare up at them. It was just so...peaceful.

Still did not make him like most of the town's residents, but that was another matter.

Staring at the TV screen in front of him, Percy reached over for some popcorn. It was Friday, thankfully, and Luke had suggested they have a movie night. But, unlike usual, they had ended up having it at Percy's apartment. Tonight's group consisted of Luke, Annabeth, Thalia, and Nico.

And the girls had ended up picking out the movie, which they eventually decided on The Help. Percy had never seen it, but it was pretty good so far. And he quickly realized why the others seemed to like it as well. It was a movie about the south during a time of discrimination, where several females worked to expose what really went on in people's homes and the treatment of African Americans at the time.

However, Annabeth was quick to point out that racial discrimination still went on in the south, and not just their town. Though, this town was a bit different on who they discriminated against.

Percy nearly jumped when he felt something cold brush against his hand. In the darkness, his green eyes found Nico's pale hand in the bowl. Though, if Nico had noticed their fingers brush, the boy was not letting on.

And Nico was another matter altogether. About halfway through September, Percy had finally made a breakthrough with Nico. The boy was beginning to open up to him, or so it seemed.

He was not entirely sure what had brought it on, but after Percy's birthday, Nico just seemed less cold towards Percy. There was still a hardness in the boy's eyes when he stared at Percy, but the most hostility that Percy received was usually in the form of a sarcastic comment when he messed up baking something in class.

However, Percy was faced with another problem that he had come to accept recently.

He had a crush on Nico. Big time. Just one day, when they were in class, Percy looked over at Nico with some flour on his pale face. His heart had raced and he could barely form a sentence when Nico had asked him to pass him some napkins.

So why was this a problem? Because of the blond on the other side of the dark haired boy. It was making Percy feel a little bitter about the situation. No matter how hard he tried, he did not see himself being able to compete with Nico's childhood friend.

But the more he got to know Nico, the more he found them compatible. Now that they were actually talking on a more regular basis, Percy found that they similar beliefs on quite a few things that ranged from religion to politics, and even things like music taste. For someone that wore so much black, Nico's taste in music had been a little surprising. But Nico had also swore that he would “rip out Percy's vocal chord” if Percy said anything.

And while he was not the biggest reader out there, Nico was already dumping books on him to try to read. “It helps to survive this place,” the boy had said. Percy was quickly learning that Nico wanted to leave this place behind. Not that Percy could fully blame him.

Nico leaned against Luke's shoulder, which caused Percy to let out a sigh. Glancing down at the boy briefly, Luke placed his arm around Nico. “Is Demeter going to be cooking for the festival?” The blond asked.

Nico inhaled deeply. “It seemed like it. I think that's what she was baking for earlier. She came over to borrow some ingredients from our house, and I think she was going to just stay and bake there.” Nico smirked. “Dad seemed displeased.”

Percy took his eyes off the TV screen. He had heard about the festival, and actually had been invited by several girls at school. Kinzie had been one of the first to ask him, saying that most of the town would be there. “Are you guys going?”

All eyes turned to Percy. Annabeth shook her blonde head. “Not likely. It's a fun event, but it's best if we don't turn up.”

“Yeah,” Thalia agree, “we wouldn't want everyone to have to go through the trouble of throwing stones at us.”

Percy looked mildly horrified. “They don't actually do that, do they?”

Thalia shrugged. “Hey, the Bible does condone it.”

Annabeth rolled her eyes. “They've never stoned us at any events.”

“Ah, but in private is another matter entirely,” Thalia fired back.

“True,” the blonde girl mumbled. She sighed and shrugged at Percy. “We usually don't go. But you should, it's a fun experience. There will be hayrides and pumpkin carvings. There's even usually a maze.”

Nico was still staring at Percy with his dark eyes. And in the darkness, the boy's eyes seemed to be entirely black, like empty sockets of darkness staring at him in the dark room. Though, it did not seem to bother Percy in the slightest. And, feeling adventurous, asked the question that was on his mind.

“Do you want to go?”

Nico blinked in surprise. He glanced up at Luke, who simply shrugged and turned back to the movie. The brown-eyed boy let out a sigh, scrunching his lips. “Um, I don't know,” he whispered. “Being at school is one thing, but we try to avoid contact with most of the town whenever possible. They don't like us going to these things. I mean, they won't even let us play sports at school.”

“Like you'd even play sports,” Thalia mumbled.

Nico shot her a dirty look. “Shut it, Thalia.” Rolling his eyes, he turned back to Percy. “Clubs are the same. Annabeth would be a great addition to many of their academic teams or clubs, but they simply refuse to take her or any of us because of who we are.”

Annabeth coughed, looking slightly embarrassed by the compliment. “It's true, we're just not welcome in or at social events.”

Percy stuck out his lip in a pout. “Please?” He begged Nico. The boy narrowed his eyes in return. “Come on, show me this festival. You'll be with me, maybe they won't bother you.”

While he did not reply right away, Nico seemed to be contemplating the offer. While holding Percy's gaze, the boy chewed on his lip. Right before he gave Percy an answer, Nico glanced at Luke, a silent and unspoken plea in his eyes. “I'll go if the others go.”

Luke let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “Fine, we'll tag along,” the blond mumbled. His blue eyes glanced over to Percy. “But if anything happens, we're just going to leave. As you saw on your first day here, things get a little crazy if something strange happens.”

“I wouldn't call a murder strange,” Annabeth mumbled.

Luke rubbed his temple. “I just don't like having everyone around the town if something does happen. We're always the first to get blamed for things around here.”

Percy nodded. “I understand.”

Thalia stood up and stretched her arms over her head. “Then we're going to the festival!” She exclaimed before turning on the light and causing them all to shield their eyes.

Percy had not been paying to the movie at all. The credits were already rolling and he had no idea how the thing ended. The last thing he remembered, Emma Stone's character was in an argument with the brunette bitch in the movie.

Nico chuckled at seeing Percy's realization about the movie. “You can borrow it, if you want.”

Percy nodded. He was not sure how it ended, but it seemed like it was good enough to watch again to see it all without the distraction of having Nico beside him.

“So,” Luke began, “how about we meet here around seven tomorrow evening?” He glanced at everyone to see if there were any objections. There weren't. “I guess we'll see if any of the others want to go, but we can figure out vehicle arrangements tomorrow.”

“You're actually wanting to drive to this?” Percy asked. Normally, the kids just wanted to walk anywhere they went around town, since most things were in relative walking distance.

Annabeth nodded. “It's on the other side of town. Besides, if things go badly, it would be best to have a vehicle close by.”

“If they don't key it,” Nico mumbled.

Percy arched a brow at Luke. The blond shrugged. “It's happened. They did at school once or twice, but Chiron isn't brainwashed like everyone else around here. He suspended the kids for like two weeks.”

“We can take my car, if that would help,” Percy suggested.

Luke grinned and patted Percy's shoulder. “Don't worry about it, dude. If they do anything, we'll just get our cars fixed.”

Annabeth hugged Percy. “Thanks for having us over, it was fun.”

Thalia nodded, nearly tackling Percy in her own hug. For such a short girl, the girl could knock the wind out of her hugging victims. “And hopefully we won't get attacked by the mob tomorrow.”

“Always the optimist,” Nico mumbled. His brown eyes glanced up at Percy when Thalia released the green-eyed boy.

Even though they had gotten closer, the few times that Percy had hugged Nico, the boy always tensed up. And this time was no exception. The second Percy had his arms around the boy, Nico's body instantly locked up. But, like always, Nico did clutch on to the back of Percy's shirt in an attempt to hug the other boy back.

Percy opened the door to his apartment and was instantly greeted by the amazing fall weather. The leaves had begun to fall from their trees, littering the parking lot outside in their vast array of colors. Annabeth had driven tonight, her red mini-cooper parked next to Percy's car. Percy held back a laugh as the girls forced Luke and Nico to climb into the back. With their long legs, there was no way that was pleasant for them.

The four of them waved at Percy as Annabeth pulled out of her parking spot. Percy waved back, his other hand in his back pocket. He smiled to himself once they were out of sight, his head tilted back to look up at the night sky. There was not a cloud in the sky tonight, giving everyone a perfect view of the hundreds of thousands of stars in the sky.

Jogging up the stairs, Percy headed back into his apartment and locked his door. He wondered if it would be so easy for him to leave this place when the year was over. Part of him wished he could have been born into one of their families, and then maybe things would have been different for him.

He could have felt like he belonged.

Frowning to himself, Percy reached up to scratch his chest. But that was not the case. In truth, Percy had felt alone ever since his parents died. Sure he had his aunt—who wasn't even his real aunt—his friends, and his past relationships since then, but there was just an empty hole missing inside of him.

Not even caring to see what time it was, Percy turned off all his lights and went into his bedroom. He plopped down on his bed, placing his hand under his head as he looked up at the dark ceiling. He was not sure why, but his thoughts had been consumed about all of this as of late. Perhaps it was his current living conditions. Living in an apartment at seventeen years of age, without supervision, does not really feel like home. And on top of that, Percy often found himself lonely.

Which was another reason Nico had, thankfully, been spending a lot more time with him. “I know what it's like to feel that way,” the boy had said, “and you don't deserve to feel like that. I suppose, if I must, I'll just have to suffer through spending some time with you.”

Percy smiled at that. Leave it to Nico to add sarcasm to his heartfelt words. Percy sighed and closed his eyes, eventually drifting off to sleep.

And, for the first time in over a month, Percy dreamed.

Kronos looked up from a book as the door opened to reveal his mother and the boy that looked like Nico. The brown-eyed boy grinned at seeing Kronos, seeming quite content with himself. Kronos smiled back before returning his eyes to the book in his lap.

“You did well today,” Kronos's mother praised the boy behind her. She stood in front of a kettle now, breaking apart herbs and tossing them into the boiling water. “I can see why your mother insisted that you be the one that I spend my time on.

The dark haired boy bowed. “Thank you, Gaea. You honor me with your words.”

Gaea eyed him as she mixed her ingredients, the hint of a smirk touching at her lips. Her green eyes turned to her son. “Kronos, could you fetch some more firewood?”

Kronos nodded, standing to his feet. The brown-eyed boy quickly appeared at his side. “If it pleases you, I would offer my help,” the boy that looked like Nico quickly offered.

Kronos looked to his mother, who nodded her head. The two boys stepped outside, Kronos grinning as soon as the door was shut. “I take it things are going well with my mother?”

The other boy placed his hands behind his back as he walked beside Kronos. “She says I'm doing rather well. Your mother flatters me.”

“As I hear it, you have already mastered what your father could not.” Kronos's near golden eyes watched the boy as he walked. “Perhaps I could observe one day?”

“Unfortunately, your mother says she cannot help me with...my personal studies, so I would not be certain what might be allowed.”

“So, she simply helps you master the basics?” Kronos asked.

The other boy gave a nod. “I have, however, shown her a demonstration.”

“When I saw,” Kronos whispered, gathering up a few logs of wood, “I felt rather impressed at the sight. I would go as far to say that you have quite a bit of talent.”

The brown-eyed boy smirked. “The son of Gaea does flatter me.” Letting out a sigh, the boy turned his gaze towards some houses.

Kronos stopped, silently watching the boy. “How has your father taken it all?” Kronos's voice was low and gentle, concern lacing every word that spilled from his mouth.

The corner of the boy's lips tilted down. “He was most unhappy at first. He gave me a bruise on my cheek that my mother did her best to heal.” Turning to face Kronos, sure enough, there was a small bruise barely visible on the bottom edge of his jaw.

Kronos reached out and touched the boy's chin, tilting the brown-eyed youth's head to get a better look at the bruise. “It should heal soon.”

The other boy did not seem all that concerned about his condition. “My sister often asks about you.”

Kronos let out a sigh. “Your sister tires my patience.”

The boy next to him smirked and gathered up more firewood. “Come, your mother might begin to wonder if you've run off with me,” he said. Kronos smiled and walked alongside the other boy until the disappeared into Gaea's house.

Everything was now different. A new home, not yet fully constructed, stood around Kronos. The boy's clothes were slightly different. Stitches covered his pants and shirt, obviously having been sewn back together many times.

The boy that looked like Nico walked past Kronos, smiling to the other boy as he followed after his father. There were quite a few other teenagers, children, and adults walking the halls of the large house that was being constructed.

A boy with blond hair and stormy blue eyes came up beside Kronos. “This place is strange,” he whispered. He stood roughly the same height as Kronos. Possibly the same age, just with more muscle on him.

“Mother says this is where we must go. Others are here, they may be able to help us.” Kronos's golden eyes glanced at the boy next to him. “You worry too much, Uranus. Salem is far behind us.” With a frown, he placed his hand on the blond's shoulder. “I am sorry about your father, you have my condolences.”

“Lost both of my parents,” the blond whispered.

“I know the feeling.” The boy that looked like Nico had returned. He stared up at the unfinished ceiling. “I shall miss my sister.”

“Circe seemed very angry before being hanged,” Uranus observed. Kronos said nothing, while the other boy simply shrugged. “I do have to wonder if it may have had anything to do with...”

“We trust that you will keep it secret,” Kronos hissed.

Uranus held his hands up in defense. “I was not going to say a word, I swear it. What friend would I be of yours if I betrayed your trust like that?”

“A very unpleasant one,” came a commanding female voice. All three boys stood up straight as Gaea walked into the room. “There was nothing that could have been done.” Her eyes drifted between Kronos and the brown-eyed boy, narrowing.

Kronos glanced down at his mother's hands. A square object rested in her palm, covered with a silk handkerchief. The woman rested her other hand on the top of it, her fingers bent around the edges of the box.

“Uranus, I shall need to borrow you for a moment,” the woman continued. She then turned her gaze back to the other two boys. “Gather the other eleven for me, I need to make sure this is secure.”

The two boys bowed and took off down the corridors. The paint slowly began to chip away, swirling and destroying the scenery. And then there was nothing but black, an empty void of nothing. There was no sound, at least not until a loud bang shattered through the silence.

Percy's eyes shot open. He swallowed hard and peered through the darkness at his bedroom door. He had left it open, but it was now shut. A chill ran down his spine as he felt the bed shift at his feet. Slowly, pressure was applied across his body, like someone were on top of him.

And then, from the darkness, came the most horrid face that Percy had ever laid eyes on.

Her teeth were yellow and rotten. Her face was a sickly grey color with black blood dripping from her mouth and eyes. The hair on the woman's—if you wanted to call her that—head was thin, most of it had fallen out. There was even a worm hanging out of the woman's temple. But worse of all, her eyes were missing.

She shrieked at Percy, her knees planted on either side of Percy's stomach. With a decaying hand, the creature of a woman grabbed Percy by his shirt and shrieked at him. Percy's eyes shot wide, his hand reaching out for whatever it could grab. He ended up knocking over the lamp as he struggled to turn it on.

The second light flooded into the room, the woman vanished. Percy stared down at his chest and the bed, where the woman had just been, but there was not even a sign that anyone had been standing there. His sheets were clean and without any traces of insects, worms, or dirt.

Percy sat up and wiped at his face. His eyes felt heavy, like he had not gotten any sleep at all. Staring at the clock, Percy found that it was a little after three. He had been asleep for around four or five hours, yet his body told him that he had been awake the entire time. And where his door had been closed a moment ago, it now stood wide open.

\----------------------------------

The others showed up at seven on the dot. Luke had borrowed his dad's van, which had been packed with himself, the twins, Annabeth, Thalia, Leo, and Jason. Frank pulled in beside the van, driving a red mustang. Hazel smiled as she jumped out of the passenger seat.

After descending the stairs, Percy clasped hands with Luke. “Nico didn't come?”

“Ah.” Luke scratched his cheek. “Demeter is bringing him. She made a pie for the festival, so she was going to drop by for a few minutes.” Smirking, he leaned in closer so that only Percy could hear him. “I think she just wants to make sure she's the best cook in town.”

Annabeth, who had dressed in a pair of blue jean shorts and a sleeveless orange shirt, smiled from the passenger seat of the van. She was very pretty, Percy decided, especially when she was not trying to look pretty. “You boys ready to go?” She called out.

Luke just stuck his tongue out at the girl before motioning to Percy that they should climb in the van. Percy sat in the very back with Leo and Jason. The blond gave him a lopsided smile as Percy slid in beside the boy. Perhaps he was just being paranoid, but Percy felt like Jason felt uneasy around him lately. Still friendly, but a lot of the time the blond just offered small talk.

“So, how was your day?” Jason asked.

“It was good,” Percy replied, buckling his seat belt. 

The blond just nodded his head before turning back to Leo to talk. Percy frowned. What had he done to cause a rift between himself and Jason? It was very odd. When it was just the two of them hanging out, Jason would be a lot more social, and Percy found they made really good friends; but a lot of the times when the others were around, Jason pulled away from Percy.

“Oh.” Leo leaned forward to look around Jason. “So, Percy, Beckendorf wanted to know if you wanted to come over to our house one day and work on our project?”

Percy smiled and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds great.”

“Great!” Leo beamed. “Just a fair warning, though, dad can be a little grumpy.”

“We can always do some baseball or football down in the field,” Jason suggested.

“Sounds even better,” Percy chuckled. Jason smiled in return, but it seemed halfhearted at best. “I take it you guys have a field somewhere near your houses?”

“Yeah,” Thalia replied from the seat in front of Percy. “There's a big one behind where most of our houses. And it's just primarily used for sports. They used to use it for crops, but they stopped planting those quite a few years ago.”

The festival already looked to be in full swing by the time they arrived. The two vehicles unloaded and the group headed through the gravel parking lot. Percy had never really been to a festival. He had been to a few carnivals back in California, but they had all been small with nearly rundown rides. This was a whole different experience.

Like at fairs and carnivals, there were the standard booths with candy: cotton candy, caramel apples, etc. However, it all looked to be freshly made. Annabeth said that the apples actually were from a local batch of trees. There were a few small games and prizes for those lucky enough to beat the games. The hayride was set up near the edge of some woods, where a small trail had been made. And, of course, there were the pumpkins. The pumpkins were everywhere.

Children ran around with some small ones in their arms, eager to make their own jack-o-lantern. “I figured the town wouldn't like Halloween?” Percy mumbled.

“Oh they don't,” Luke chuckled. “They call them festive pumpkins, and the kids aren't allowed to carve scary faces.” He grinned and stuck his tongue out. “Which is amusing, because when Nico and I were younger, we actually did come to the festival one year. And Nico, loving Halloween as he does, decided to disobey the rules. Some other kids did end up smashing his pumpkin, but he was still happy about it up until then.”

“And I shall treasure the memory of him always.”

The group turned to find Nico standing behind them with his hands in his aviator jacket pockets. Demeter stood beside him, smiling as she held a large peach cobbler. And it smelled like heaven. Percy definitely knew one piece of dessert he would be tasting tonight.

“I think I'm just going to go drop this off,” Demeter stated.

Nico frowned as the woman began to head to a long table that had been set up under some tents. Brown eyes flickered up to meet Luke's blue orbs. “Do you mind?”

Luke shrugged. “Come on, guys. It'll just be a minute, and we can all get something,” the blond ordered. Nico leaned up to whisper in his ear. Luke's eyebrows rose slightly. “Um, and this is just a warning.”

The rest of the kids grumbled as they followed after Demeter. Percy cocked his head to the side. “A warning for what?”

“Uh,” Luke blew out a breath, “you know, just not to eat too much junk food.”

It seemed like Nico had the right idea, as Mrs. Dodds and some other ladies were standing near some chocolate cake when they arrived. The woman's beady eyes narrowed at the sight of them from underneath her wide brim hat. And when she noticed Percy with them, she bristled.

While Nico was keeping an eye on his step-grandmother, he did have Luke whispering in his ear. The brown-eyed boy took his eyes off Demeter for a moment to give Luke a warning look. “Drop it,” he whispered to the blond.

Most of the group tried to find something to eat, but Nico stood a few feet away from Demeter, seemingly with no interest of getting something to eat.

Jason offered the pale boy a chocolate chip cookie. “So, you want to go on the hayride?”

Nico let out a sigh, shaking his head with a small smile. “I'm okay.” He stiffened when he noticed Mrs. Dodds making her way over to Demeter, her flock of snickering friends behind her.

“Well, well, look who decided to show their face.” Mrs. Dodds crossed her arms, sticking her nose up. “Come to try and find a child to cook up for one of your devil rituals on Halloween?”

Demeter just smiled and patted Nico on the shoulder. “Just bringing my grandson here to the carnival.” Nico glared at Mrs. Dodds, who sneered at the boy. “Oh, and I thought I'd offer some cobbler.”

The women all eyed the cobbler, obviously tempted to try it. It seemed Demeter's cooking really was famous and desired around the town. The women behind Mrs. Dodds started to whisper while they pointed to the cobbler. Mrs. Dodds inhaled deeply, puffing up like a chicken. “Well, I suppose we'll need to give that a try. Wouldn't want the children around here eating something you might have bewitched.”

Demeter did not seem bothered by the woman's words at all. “Go ahead, there's plenty for everyone.” The woman watched with much satisfaction as each woman got a small plate and piled it high with cobbler. “So, how is it?”

“Very good,” one woman managed to mumble around a mouthful of food.

“I'm so glad you like it,” Demeter replied, sounding very pleased with herself.

The kids relaxed once the women had their mouths full of Demeter's peach cobbler. The twins headed off into the fair grounds, which seemed to make Luke a little uneasy. He watched his brothers go until they were completely out of sight, and even then he craned his neck to try and spot them.

Percy got himself a plate after Hazel and Frank decided to go find a game to play. Apparently, Frank was going to win Hazel a giant teddy bear. Instead of contemplating what he wanted to get, Percy headed straight for Demeter's cobbler.

He wanted to try and it and tell the woman how it was, but it seemed like she was getting ready to leave. “And you'll be all right?” She asked Nico as she pulled her keys out of her purse.

Nico nodded. “I'll ride home with Luke.”

The woman nodded and took her leave, casting a final look to Mrs. Dodds and the other women as they stuffed their faces with the pie from the woman they hated so much. Percy frowned at them before raising the fork up to his mouth.

But before he could take a bite, Nico's hand latched onto his arm. “Don't eat that.”

Percy arched an eyebrow. “Why not? Everything she cooks is amazing.”

“Um, because you might not like it.” Nico released his arm, but kept a watchful eye on the green-eyed boy's hand. “She burnt the crust, and I think she added way too much sugar.”

Percy found all that hard to believe. As much of Demeter's cooking as he had since he arrived in town, not once had he seen her mess up on her food. “I'm sure it'll be fine,” Percy chuckled before shoving his fork into his mouth. He closed his eyes and moaned at the taste.

Nico looked pale as Percy chewed the cobbler. Luke was also staring over at him, his blue eyes wide as he watched Percy eat. “Oh shit,” Percy thought he heard Thalia curse as she too watched him.

Percy did not understand what the big deal was, the cobbler tasted amazing. “You want some?” He offered Nico.

The boy shook his head. “No, I'm...I'm okay.” He sighed and reached out, taking the plate from Percy and sitting it down. Percy whined and went to pick it up from where Nico had put it, but the boy grabbed his wrist and jerked him away from the table. “You want to go on a hayride, or something?”

“But-” Percy shut up when he realized Nico was holding his hand. While he had yet to feel the overwhelming heat like he had on his birthday, there was a warmth radiating from Nico's hand. Which Percy found odd, considering how cold Nico's skin always felt. “I thought you said you didn't want to go on a hayride?”

“I changed my mind,” Nico shot back, not even trying to slow down.

“So we are going on a hayride?” Jason asked as he jogged up to them.

Nico stiffened slightly. “Um, yeah, sure.”

After getting Luke, Annabeth, Thalia, and Leo, Percy found himself waiting in the small line for the hayride. He was a little disappointed that Jason had tagged along, and even more so when Nico went to get the others. He had wanted to be alone with Nico for a little bit, but that did not seem like it was going to happen. After thinking about it earlier today, Percy had decided it was best if he got his feelings off his chest. While he knew nothing would come of it, it was still probably better than keeping them built up within him.

But at the moment, Nico was not even near him. Luke had the boy to himself at the moment, and Annabeth and Thalia stood in between Percy and the two of them. While they were whispering, Percy did catch Nico say, “We'll talk later. Just for right now, don't let us be alone.”

Luke leaned in and whispered something in Nico's ear. He seemed a little frustrated with the boy, by the looks of things.

When it came time for them to get on the hayride, Thalia dragged Luke and Annabeth ahead in the line. Jason grumbled as his sister pushed past him and climbed onto the wagon that was loaded down with bundles of hay. And then came the bad news.

“Looks like we're full,” the man in charge of the hayride announced. All that was left was Percy and Nico. “You two can hop on the one back there.”

Percy nodded to Nico, who followed the green-eyed boy to the horse and wagon behind the one their friends were on. Jumping up, Percy held out his hand and assisted the other boy in getting on. Nico mumbled his thanks and sat down on the back. And by the looks of the kids that had been in line behind them, they had no intentions of getting on the same wagon as Nico.

“Guess it's just the two of us,” Percy said with a smile.

“Yay,” Nico droned.

Their friends' wagon was pulled into the woods, while the man in charge of their wagon climbed up on the front. The man waited until the other wagon was far enough out of sight before getting his horse to move. With a small jerk, Percy and Nico's wagon was pulled into the dark woods.

There were a few scares on the way, but nothing too graphic. “They try to keep it mild,” Nico said with a roll of his eyes. “And the haunted house the town sometimes puts on at the end of the month is practically a joke.”

Percy smiled. “You guys should put one on.”

“I don't think anyone would come to it,” Nico chuckled. It was nice seeing the boy laugh, he was cute.

“I would.”

Nico's brown eyes glanced over to him in the dimly lit woods. “I bet. Wouldn't be too scared of what we might come up with?” There was the dark glint in Nico's eyes again, watching and studying Percy for a hint of fear.

But there was none to be had. Percy did not feel scared of Nico, even when he was like this. “As long as it's you scaring me,” Percy replied, sticking out his tongue playfully.

Nico rolled his eyes and looked away, crossing his arms in his lap. Percy thought he heard the boy mumble something, but it was too quiet to actually catch. Percy sighed and propped himself up by placing his hands on either side of him. How was he supposed to tell Nico how he felt? Sure he made a fool of himself many times in the past, but it was not like he went around trying to do it. And for some reason, the inevitability of being rejected by Nico made his stomach feel nauseous.

“You do that a lot.”

Percy blinked at the sound of Nico's voice. He had not even realized that they boy was looking at him again. He arched a brow. “Do what?”

Nico nodded to Percy's chest. “That.”

Percy looked down and found he was scratching his chest. “Oh.” He dropped his hand to his lap. “Long story.”

Nico nodded in understanding. “It's okay if you don't want to talk about it.”

“I don't mind,” Percy whispered. He peeled back the collar of his shirt and touched at the red spot he had left from his scratching. “It's where I got shot. I don't know, even after it healed, the wound seemed to keep irritating me.”

“You should be dead,” Nico whispered. His eyes stared at the spot on Percy's chest like it was a sick puppy. “It's very...close to your heart.”

“Yeah.” Percy let go of his collar. “But, by some miracle, here I am. I guess it just wasn't my time. Well, that and I must have had an amazing doctor, though he said he really didn't know how to explain it.”

Nico's lips pursed. He seemed to be deep in thought, but it was hard to read his expression as the light faded even more. “I guess you're very lucky then,” the boy finally whispered.

Percy took in a deep breath. He needed to get it over with, his conscious told him. But what if Luke started not to like him because of his feelings for Nico? Would Luke be that kind of guy? Probably not. If they had known each other for so long, the blond probably felt secure. But that also did not seem to stop Nico doing whatever it was with Jason.

“Percy?”

“Hmm?” Percy replied. Nico was looking at him with concern. He must have caught Percy staring. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Don't hurt yourself then.”

Percy's face remained solemn. When Nico noticed this, he too fell silent. “Um,” Percy began, “I actually wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Oh?” Nico tilted his head to the side. “About what? If you need more help with cooking, you should go to Demeter.”

Percy narrowed his eyes. “That's not what it's about, jerk.” Nico just grinned back at him. “I, uh, sort of lied back when Luke asked if I liked anyone yet.”

Nico's grin vanished. “Oh? Do I know them? Is it Kinzie? Because she's always hanging around you at school. And, I mean, I guess I could see-”

“I like you.”

Nico just sat there, stunned. “Uh...” He cleared his throat. “You're joking, right?”

Percy slowly shook his head, casting his gaze to the hay that they sat on. “I'm sorry,” he whispered, “I shouldn't have said anything.”

“No, it's...fine.” Nico was still in shock. “I, uh, just wasn't expecting it. I mean, I thought you were just staring at me because I had something on my face.” Biting down on his lip, Nico inched away from Percy. “But I don't think it's a good idea to try and pursue those feelings.”

There it was, Percy thought. “I know,” he whispered. Nico had Luke, and that would always be final. “I understand.”

“It's just complicated, Percy.” Nico patted his hand gently. “I mean, I still want us to be friends, but-”

“There's Luke.”

Nico gave Percy a look like the green-eyed boy had grown a second head. “Um, what? What does Luke have to do with anything?”

Percy blinked. “Well, you're dating him, that's why.”

For a brief moment, everything was silent. And then, finally, Nico busted out laughing. Percy honestly did not see what was so funny, but whatever it was had Nico nearly falling off his seat. He laughed so loud that the guy in charge of the ride turned back to give them an odd look.

Percy frowned. “What's so funny?”

Nico continued to laugh. When he saw Percy's face, he calmed down slightly, wiping at his eyes. “Sorry, sorry. But it's just funny. Well, I mean, I guess I could see how you could think that, but Luke and I are definitely not dating.” Nico chuckled and shook his head. “I know it breaks many guys' hearts, but Luke is straight.”

Percy's mouth fell open. Nico was single? Or was he? There was still the matter of Jason. “But you two are so...”

“Affectionate?” Nico arched a brow. Percy nodded. Nico shrugged. “Just how we've always been. After my mother died, Luke and I became even closer than we had been, and I suppose we do sometimes go borderline couple. I'm also aware that people at school think we're a couple.” He rolled his eyes. “Well, rather that they think I turned Luke gay.” He shook his head with a smile. “No, Luke and I are just really good friends.”

Percy swallowed a lump in his throat. “So, it's not a guy?”

Nico chewed on his lip, but shook his head. “I just don't think it's a good idea. I'm sorry.” When he caught sight of the dejected look on Percy's face, Nico nudged his shoulder. “Hey, we can still be friends. I mean, you're willing to talk to me, and who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?”

Percy managed a smile. “I guess I can take that.”

As the wagon was pulled out of the woods, Nico smiled at him. “You going to be okay?”

Percy jumped off the wagon once it had come to a stop. As the rest of their group headed towards them, Percy smiled at Nico and nodded. “Yeah, no need to make things awkward.”

Nico nodded and jumped down beside him. Luke smiled as he came to stand next to Nico, tossing his arm around the boy. Before Percy might have thought differently, but now he knew better. “So, how was your ride?”

Nico looked across their group, at Jason. The brown-eyed boy chewed on his lip. “It went well. Nothing terrifying, though I feel slightly disappointed that they didn't feature burning witches,” the boy grinned.

Thalia nodded sagely. “True, very true. It's just not a festival in this town without some blatant hatred towards us.” Her electric blue eyes shot open wide and she took off towards one of the food stand. “Cotton candy!” The girl called back to them.

Luke sighed and shook his head, motioning for the group to follow after the girl. As they walked, Luke leaned in to whisper in Nico's ear, while slipping his hands into his back pockets. Nico rolled his eyes and looked away, shaking his head. The blond mumbled something about “fine”.

“I'll tell you later,” Nico whispered, which Percy did manage to catch.

“So, how was the hayride?” Jason asked, coming up beside Percy.

“Oh, uh, it was fine.” Percy tossed the blond a smile. “Nothing real exciting.”

The blond gave a slight nod. “Sucks you two didn't get to ride with us. I'm sure it was very boring.” The blond smirked. “But then again, I suppose you can't expect much liveliness from anything put on by this town.”

Percy's eyes roamed in front of him, where Nico was walking. The boy had his head turned slightly to observe them. Jason tossed the boy a wave and Nico narrowed his eyes, shooting the blond a warning glare.

“Someone's grumpy tonight,” Jason chuckled. The blond returned his gaze to Percy, where he wagged his eyebrows once. “So, looks like he's been warming up to you finally.”

“Yeah,” Percy said, managing a smile.

“Good. That's...good.” Jason did not seem so happy about Percy's answer.

When they got to Thalia, she was already munching down on some cotton candy, while holding a caramel apple in her other hand. Luke just rolled his eyes at the sight of her. However, instead of eating the apple, Thalia handed it to Leo and whispered something to the Latino boy.

Leo's cheeks flared up as he took the apple, bobbing his head energetically. “Hey, Jase,” Leo called out. Jason arched a brow at his friend. “You want to help me make a pumpkin?”

“Not real-Ah!” Jason stumbled as Leo dragged him off towards the pile of pumpkins towards the center of the festival.

Annabeth cleared her throat and nudged Luke. “You want to accompany us to go check in on the others? Better make sure they're all right?”

Luke glanced at Nico for a second. “But-”

“Great!” Thalia exclaimed. The raven-haired girl waved Nico off casually. “Nico's a big boy, right, Nico?”

“Um, yeah.” The boy glanced up at Percy. “You won't be long?” He asked Luke.

“We'll just do a quick round,” the blond assured him before the two girls managed to drag him off.

Percy shifted his weight as he watched the three disappear into the crowd of people. The others had not been lying when they had told him that the entire town would probably be there. With a quick glance to Nico, he found the boy glaring at where the others had gone.

“So, you want anything?” Percy decided to ask.

Nico blinked and looked up at him. “No, I'm okay.”

“Do you mind if I get anything?”

Nico shook his head and waited in line beside Percy. Percy let out a long yawn, which got the shorter boy to look at him again. “Didn't get enough sleep there, Sleeping Beauty?”

“So you do think I'm attractive,” Percy replied with a cocky grin. Nico just rolled his eyes. The green-eyed boy simply shrugged. “Just been having trouble sleeping lately.” No need to tell him about...whatever that was last night. To put it simply, Percy did not want to look crazy to one of his friends. “You wouldn't believe me if I told you.”

Without batting an eyelash, Nico replied, “Try me.” The kid looked so serious, like there was simply nothing Percy could say to him that would surprise him.

But, even so, that did not mean it was best to tell Nico. The guy probably expected something like Percy missed home, or something along those line. How was he supposed to say that he woke up to a corpse woman standing on top of him in the middle of the night? Not really the best line of conversation. And in this town, sounding crazy did not seem like the best idea.

After buying a stick of cotton candy, Percy let Nico lead him around the festival. They managed to get a few stares, but it was not unexpected by this point. Over the past month, Percy got used to the odd looks he would get just by being with Nico and the others.

“I don't think I'll ever understand this town,” Percy admitted. He let out a quick sigh. “It just doesn't seem fair, or right.”

Nico just shrugged, kicking at a twig in front of his foot. “And since when was life ever fair? But we survived, and that's what matters.”

“They get away with murder.” Percy frowned down at the boy. How could Nico be so calm about these things? “Why not fight back? I mean, I thought you guys owned most of the town? Isn't there something you can do?”

“It's not like that,” Nico whispered. “You don't understand.”

“They killed your mother,” Percy hissed.

Nico glared at Percy. “You don't think I know that?” The brown-eyed boy growled. “Medea openly hates them, and nearly broke Khione's arm two years ago. My father nearly caused every family involved in her murder to go broke. You think we just sit back and take it all?”

“Sorry,” the taller of the two mumbled. “I just... I don't like that they pretty much get away with all this.”

Nico's eyes refused to look up from the ground. “I wouldn't say they get away with it,” he mumbled. For some reason, Percy felt like there was more to the story that what Nico had told him.

“Um, so different subject?” Percy offered Nico a small smile as an apology. Nico just rolled his eyes. “Do you like it here?”

Nico eyed him warily. “What kind of question is that?” When Percy just shrugged, Nico continued. “I guess. I mean, it would be better if the people weren't as barbaric.” Nico finally smiled. “And what about you? Eager to get out of this place?”

Percy shrugged. “Sort of. I mean, I have met some pretty cool people here.” The two stared at each other, just smiling. Nico was the first to break the silence by clearing his throat, his cheeks turning a little pink. “I think you're pretty cool.”

“Do you even care how corny you sound?” Nico asked with a smirk. Pinching off a piece of Percy's cotton candy, Nico stuffed it in his mouth. “But on a more serious note, is the reason you told Luke you didn't like anyone because you thought we were dating?”

Percy felt his ears start to burn. Clearing his throat, the boy slipped a piece of cotton candy into his mouth.

“Uh-huh,” Nico said smugly. “Well then, I suppose that's all the answer I need.” A small chuckle escaped the boy's lips. “Maybe you're a little cute when you're embarrassed.” More laughter came from Nico's mouth.

Percy's eyes grew dull and he grumbled as he stuffed more cotton candy into his mouth. “I don't like being laughed at,” he mumbled. Nico arched a brow at him. “It makes me feel dumb.”

The brown-eyed boy smiled, causing Percy's heart to race. “I'm sorry. I don't think you're dumb, if that counts for anything.”

“I like it when you smile, you should do it more often.” Percy's eyes went wide and he covered his mouth. “Uh, sorry.”

Nico just smiled and shook his head. “Percy Jackson, I have to wonder if you weren't born in the south, because you could totally pass for a southern gentleman.”

Percy felt a little sad from that comment. It just reminded him of his earlier thoughts of wishing he could have been raised in one of these families. Maybe then things between him and Nico could have been different. But he still did not fully understand why Nico turned him down, if it was not Luke.

“Looks like the little witch has decided to charm another helpless boy.”

Nico stiffened at the sound of the feminine voice behind them. Percy and Nico both turned to find Khione, Kelli, Tammi, and Dylan. Khione sneered at Nico, like he were some foul vermin that she wished to be rid of. And she probably did. If she had her way, Percy had no doubt that she'd have all of the members of the disliked families run out of town.

Kelli was twirling her hair, an unpleasant look filling her eyes. “Percy, you shouldn't associate yourself with people like this one. If you don't watch out, he might turn you gay.”

Percy frowned at the group. “And?” Without even bothering to think about it, Percy grabbed Nico's hand. “Besides, I'm already bisexual. Can't turn what's already that way.”

Nico looked at him in a mixture of shock and awe. And he was not the only one shocked. All four of the other kids let their mouths hang open. The only thing funny, though, was when Dylan leaned in to Tammi and whispered, “What's bisexual?”

Tammi rolled her eyes and elbowed the tall jock. “It means that we're going to have to pray for the new kid, because the little witch has beguiled him.”

“I'm impressed you know what that word means,” Nico mumbled, which earned him a glare from the girl. Even though he had given them lip, Percy could tell Nico was tense. The boy's hands were balled into fists at his side, and he stood up straighter than Percy had ever seen him.

However, out of everyone, Khione seemed bothered by Nico the least. Sure she seemed to loathe him, but there did not seem to be an ounce of fear in her. “What you going to do, drag us into the woods and sacrifice us like you probably did my father?”

Nico stretched his fingers, glaring back at the girl. “No one killed your father.” The boy's eyes looked practically black in the dim lighting. “He probably ran off to get away from your bitch of a mother, or perhaps got tired of listening to you.”

While the others seemed to begin to fidget, Khione stood her ground. “I'm not dumb. And how dare you talk about my mother like that?” She shrieked. “It's your family's fault that he even took up drinking, what with all the bills that suddenly got put on us.”

The brown-eyed boy scoffed. “Please, I'm not going to feel sorry for you. If anything, I do wish your father is dead, for what he helped do to my mother. But none of us killed him, nor would I waste my energy to try and do so.” The boy rolled his shoulders and let out a breath, seemingly relaxing. “Contrary to popular belief, we don't abduct people for any rituals.”

“Aha!” Dylan exclaimed. “He admitted that they do have rituals.”

Khione rolled her eyes. “Shut up, Dylan, that's not what he meant.” The girl raised a hand to point one of her nails in Percy's direction. “You-”

But before she could finish, Percy stepped in between her and Nico. “I think you guys should go. He wasn't bothering anything before you showed up, and I'd like it if you left him alone.”

Khione and Percy glared at each other in silence for a long, uncomfortable moment. The girl finally huffed and crossed her arms. “Fine, but I'm going to tell Kinzie I don't think you should sit with any of us at lunch. In my opinion, if you want to throw yourself in with these devil worshipers, then you don't need to be around us.”

Percy just shrugged, letting the girl know that he wasn't bothered by her threat. Narrowing her eyes, Khione stomped off with the others in tow. Percy turned around to face Nico, who had his eyes hidden behind his bangs.

Percy tilted his head to the side to get a better look at the other boy. Nico was frowning down at the ground, fear evident in his eyes. “You okay?” Percy whispered.

“You shouldn't have gotten involved,” Nico mumbled. He shook his head and began looking around. “I shouldn't have even said anything, it's just going to make things worse.”

The green-eyed boy shook his head. “They're bullying you, and that's not right. I'm not going to let them do that.”

Nico sighed and looked up at Percy with a dull look. “Why couldn't Luke have been wrong about you?” He grumbled before heading off in a random direction.

Percy blinked and chased after the boy. “What's that supposed to mean?”

Nico did not bother stopping, so Percy had to keep a fast pace to stay at his side. The brown-eyed boy was searching for something. Probably Luke and the others, Percy figured. He seemed very tense as he walked with diligence.

“Luke might have told me about you on the first day you moved here,” Nico finally answered. Glancing over his shoulder, he stopped and faced Percy. “He just said that an attractive gay guy had moved to town, and that he wasn't an ignorant Christian like everyone else in this town.”

“You know, I sometimes wonder if you hate all Christians.”

Nico glared. “Really? You're going to focus on that?” He sighed. “I don't hate all of them, just the closed-minded loons we have in this town.” Percy flinched when Nico noticed him smiling. “Are you even listening?”

In truth, Percy had drifted back to what Nico had originally said about Luke telling Nico about him. But given the look on Nico's face, it might not have been a good idea to let him know that. So, instead, Percy just shook his head.

Nico let out a sigh, his shoulders finally relaxing. “It's sort of ironic, I suppose. The guy you were worried about me being in a relationship with was the guy that was trying to convince me to give you a chance.” Nico shook his head and muttered something under his breath before pushing his way through a crowd of people.

“Wait, Nico!” Percy called out after him. He attempted to follow after him, but the boy was moving fast through the crowds. When he got the chance, Percy reached out and grabbed the boy's wrist.

Where Nico once stood was a seven foot tall goat man. And not like a satyr, with the head and upper body of a man, but an actual figure that looked like a goat. It stood tall like a man, but the head was clearly a goat. Its eyes were as black as night, and the horns on its head were long and pointed at the tips. His fur was brown like the dirt, while its body was covered in a red robe. The only human-like part of the thing's body were its hands, which were pale and without fur. It stood there, staring at Percy with its dark eyes, on large cloven hooves. In its right hand was a large tree branch.

Everything seemed so lifeless and empty around Percy. No one was surrounding him anymore, and the world was absolutely silent. Percy raised a hand to his ear. A loud ringing in his head had started, like a drill was working its way into his brain.

Percy was pulled back to reality when Nico jerked his arm away. Percy stumbled backwards, which caught Nico's attention. The boy stopped and reached out, grabbing Percy's wrist. “Are you okay?” He asked.

It took Percy a second, but he nodded. “Just...feeling a little dizzy.”

Nico pursed his lips, reaching a hand up to feel Percy's forehead. “Well, let's find Luke. I think we should probably head home now.”

It wasn't too hard to find Luke, they only had to follow the sound of shrieking. When Percy and Nico arrived, they found Khione flailing about, while Tammi and Kelli attempted to pry a caramel apple out of her hair. Percy and Nico stepped up beside Luke.

“Um, what's going on?” Nico asked.

Luke glanced at them briefly. “Just letting the twins have a little fun before I step in.” He smirked at Nico. “Sounded like they had already bumped into you, so I figured I could ignore the situation for a little bit.”

The twins were holding each other up while they laughed. “It slipped, I promise,” Travis cackled in Khione's direction.

When Luke finally shook his head and stepped in, he grabbed the two and pulled them away. Just in time too, as quite a few people were looking very angry. On their way to the cars, Thalia bumped fists with the twins.

“That was awesome, guys,” Leo told the two troublemakers.

When they arrived, Percy noticed someone missing. “Where's Annabeth?”

Thalia sat on the hood of the van. “Had to go to the bathroom.”

“I'll go fetch her,” Hazel offered before Luke could even say anything. The blond mumbled a thanks as the short girl took off.

Luke nudged Nico, who seemed to be deep in thought. The blond nodded his head over to some bushes. Nico seemed hesitant at first, but reluctantly followed his friend over to where they could talk in private. Nico sat down on the grass, soon to be joined by Luke.

Percy looked down at the nearly finished stick of cotton candy in his hand. Looking around, Percy spotted a trash can not far away. The only problem was that it was also not far away from where Luke was talking to Nico. Was it wrong of him to be slightly curious about what they were discussing? Given the events of the night, Percy figured there were only two real options: the hayride or Nico's encounter with Khione.

To say the least, curiosity got the better of him. Percy tossed his trash in the garbage, but remained close to where Luke and Nico were. Acting casual, he sat down on a wooden post that acted as a border between the parking lot and the grass.

Luck seemed to be on his side as Nico and Luke were not really whispering, but just talking in lowered voices. It still allowed Percy to hear the conversation, but kept him at a distance where it did not look like he was intentionally listening in.

“Why did you tell him that?” Luke sighed. “That's not what you told me.”

Nico picked at some grass, a sad look covering his face. “I know, I know. But he doesn't need to know that I like him. It would just be better for the both of us if we stayed as friends.”

Luke arched a brow. “Better for the both of you, or just you? He's a good guy, Nico, you should give him the chance. He's not going to hurt you like Mitchell did, and he can be what Jason couldn't be for you. I don't see him running away simply because of what is expected of him.”

Nico let out a long sigh, tossing the grass he had been plucking at to the side. “Don't say anything, please.” Sad brown eyes glanced up at his blond friend. “It's just better if nothing comes of it.”

“Why?”

Percy wanted to know the answer as well. Luke seemed a little frustrated, so at least Percy was not the only one lost by Nico's confession. He figured this should be good news; but with Nico's answer from earlier, it did not feel as such.

Nico hung his head, casting his eyes into shadows. “I don't want to die heartbroken over him.”

What? That made no sense.

Unlike Percy, though, Luke seemed to catch on to what Nico was saying. The blond gave a small nod. “Oh. I see.”

Nico just shook his head. Pushing his bangs to the side, he glanced over to where Percy sat. Probably under the impression that Percy could not hear him, he said, “We're too different, several worlds apart. He and I can never be truly together.”

Percy's heart sank into his stomach. He was not sure which he preferred, being lied to that Nico didn't like him, or the truth that Nico did like him and just refused to act on his feelings. Which was really better, knowing the truth or believing the lie?


	9. The Junior Division

October turned out to be a bad month for Percy. Looking back on it, he had to wonder if he had not hurt every inch of his body in some way over the course of the month. It had started by stubbing his toe one morning as he got out of the shower, which had led to him tripping and falling into the bathroom door. After a black cat had crossed his path one afternoon and he nearly got hit on the head by a tree branch, Percy was starting to wonder if there was any truth to superstitions.

But it was not just him. No, quite a few people in town seemed to be sharing in his month of misfortune. Several kids at school had to go to the doctor, and some even to the hospital. Percy had recognized one of the kids—who had broken his leg falling down the stairs at school—as the boy that had dumped eggs on Nico's head two months ago. Percy did not feel sorry for him.

Even Mrs. Dodds had to be taken to the doctor after, as quoted by Kinzie, “explosive diarrhea in the middle of church one morning”. However, the town did not seem to brush it off as easily as Percy. Several kids, including Luke and Jason, had ended up getting into fights at school. Beckendorf had nearly broken a kid's arm after he had slammed Leo into a locker.

And today was no different, as he tripped down the stairs on the way to his car. The boy hissed as he felt a sharp burning sensation explode from his knee. Cursing quietly, Percy stumbled to his car and climbed in before inspecting his knee. There was definitely a red mark there, but thankfully no blood. Seriously, who had he pissed off in a past life? This was just ridiculous.

Percy spotted a mother carrying her child from a nearby apartment, the child dressed as a cowboy. Today was Halloween, which made Percy uneasy. Halloween meant pranks and mischief, which normally he loved, but it only made him nervous in this town. He wondered if Nico and the others would even try to come to school today, what with all the hostility towards them this month and the holiday.

It seemed they all did feel adventurous today, as Percy walked into the lunchroom and found Luke and the others sitting at their usual table, waiting for classes to begin for the day. Percy sat down across from Luke, who had his feet kicked up on the table in front of Nico. The pale boy shot the blond a dirty look as he attempted to read Hamlet, which was probably for class. Percy had just finished The Crucible for Ms. Hestia's class, and was waiting to get back the paper he wrote for it today.

Percy quickly found himself staring at Nico, who had dressed up for the holiday. It seemed he was going for a blatant statement on what the town thought of all of them with his devil costume. It was kind of hot, Percy thought. The boy had on tight, black leather jeans and a blood red shirt with the sleeves cut off. There was even a tear across the chest, revealing a hint of the boy's pale skin. It also looked like he was wearing mascara, judging by the dark lines around his red eyes. Yes, red. The boy had also put in some red contact lenses, which was even more hot. Red devil horns and a spiked tail finished off the boy's attire.

“May I help you?” Nico mumbled, flipping the page of his book and not even bothering to look up to meet Percy's gaze.

Percy coughed and looked down at the table, sliding his finger across the surface in a circular pattern. “Just admiring your current attire. I like the statement.”

The corner of Nico's lips tilted up as his enticing eyes scanned his current page. Percy was not going to be having an easy time in class today. Nico finally closed his book and leaned forward, resting his arms on Luke's legs. “I see you didn't dress for the holiday,” Nico commented.

Percy chuckled and looked down at himself. “Left all my old costumes back in California, and been a little preoccupied to go looking for a new one.”

Luke chuckled and glanced at Nico, his eyes shining in amusement. “You've had some pretty bad luck there, Perce.” Nico shot him a dirty look for that comment.

“You look like shit,” came Drew's loving comment for the day. She currently was applying a coat of paint to her already perfect nails.

Ignoring her, Percy turned back to the others. “So, got any plans for the holiday?”

Luke opened his mouth to answer, but Jason beat him to it. “Yes,” he replied simply. The blond chewed on a biscuit, a dry look in his eyes as he stared across the table at Percy. Luke frowned down at the blond, but Jason's stare went unchallenged by Luke.

It was something that Percy had been seeing as of late. Jason's say in what went on in their group seemed to be final. At first, Percy had thought Luke was the one that had been more in charge, but whenever the two blonds butted heads, Jason always won the argument without much resistance.

Not that things did not go on behind the blond's back. Nico had come over last week to drop off a few books, against Jason's wishes. “He's just being dumb,” Nico had said. “He's not very trusting, gets it from his father. But we don't have to tell him about my visit, now do we?”

And, as Percy was seeing again, Jason's tension when it came to Percy had gotten worse as the month had gone on. Percy was not sure what had happened, but after seeing Nico and Jason ignoring each other last week, the green-eyed boy could tell the two were at odds about something. Annabeth had told him that the two had gotten into a very verbal argument the night before, which ended in Jason getting kicked out of Nico's house. Jason had also come to school with a red mark on his cheek that same day.

Jason frowned down at the rest of his breakfast, stealing a glance over to Nico, who tossed the blond a dry look before returning to his book. Apparently, the two were still not on good terms.

“Hey, Percy,” Kinzie said as she stopped at their table, making sure to stick close to where Percy sat. “So, um, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the town's haunted house with me tonight? It'll be a lot of fun.”

“Um, maybe.” Percy chewed on his lip, glancing at the others at his table. Well, it was not like they were going to be doing anything that involved him. “I mean, I guess I could.”

Kinzie beamed at him, bouncing on her heels. “Great! I'll swing by after dinner to pick you up.” She turned on her heels and hurried off.

Percy turned around in his seat to find a lot of unpleasant looks being shot in his direction. Annabeth and Luke were mildly indifferent, but the rest did not seem very pleased with his decision. Even Nico had stopped in his reading to give Kinzie a dirty look as she walked away. After she was gone, Nico's red eyes narrowed at Percy.

Medea snorted. “That'll be fun for for him, I'm sure.”

The bell rang before Percy could defend himself. He hung his head with a groan as the table all left him. Why was it so hard to understand that he just wanted to felt like he belonged? Somewhere, anywhere.

Once he was seated in his first class, Percy turned to Annabeth and Malcolm. “So, um, you guys don't want to go to that haunted house, do you?”

Annabeth snorted, unpacking her Calculus book. “I'm sure that would go over well.”

“That's an understatement,” Malcolm mumbled.

The blonde girl shook her head in amusement. “I think we'll pass. And, as Jason said, we have plans for tonight.”

“Oh.” Percy tried to hide his disappointment, but was sure he did not pull it off very well. If he sucked at one thing, it was hiding when he was depressed. “All right, well, I guess I'll just let you know how it goes.”

Annabeth gave him a lopsided smile right before Mrs. Nakamura cleared her throat to begin class. Percy had the feeling that this was going to be a long day.

And how right he was. Calculus had dragged on forever, and Nemesis had no problem assigning five pages of homework to complete by tomorrow. The woman had to have a sadistic side, Percy decided as he walked to Home Economics.

In the hallway, Percy came to a stop when he spotted two familiar heads, one black and the other blond. Jason closed his locker rather harshly, glaring at Nico, who was talking at him rather animatedly, his face slightly red. Jason stumbled back when Nico shoved a finger into the blond's chest. Percy slipped closer.

“I said, no,” Jason growled.

“You're being ridiculous.”

“You and I had been on the same page, so what happened?” Jason crossed his arms. 

Nico glared back at the blond. “That depends on when you mean. Recently or overall?”

Jason narrowed his eyes. “At least I didn't cheat on you,” he hissed. Nico still, slightly stunned. Jason winced. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean-”

“It's fine,” Nico whispered, rubbing his arm. “Just lighten up on him, okay?”

Jason frowned at that. “But I already said-”

Nico interrupted him again. “And you can say you changed your mind, the others won't question your judgment.”

Jason leaned against his locker, still frowning. The blond seemed to be considering what Nico said. “Fine, but only because you asked. I'm still not sure how I feel about him.” The blond's mood visibly relaxed when Nico smiled. “Still, you can't go tonight. I've already had everything set up, and I would like everyone to be there tonight.” Nico quirked a brow at him. Jason waved him off. “Aside from our parents, they have their own engagements tonight.”

Nico patted Jason's cheek with a smirk. “Thank you. I'll call you later.”

When Nico had turned around, Jason smiled brightly. He sighed and zipped his backpack before heading in the opposite direction. Percy would never come to like how the hallway spread like the Red Sea for any of them as they walked.

It was not until Percy was actually in class with Nico that he truly realized how tight the boy's pants were. As Nico leaned forward to straighten out their table, Percy could not help but to lean back and admire the view. He was not much for religion, but it should be considered a sin for Nico to wear those things.

Nico cleared his throat. Percy quickly raised his eyes, his cheeks flaring up. Nico quirked a brow at him. “Can I help you, or do I need to let the teacher that you had to run to the bathroom to take care of some things?” The boy tapped his fingers on their table as he waited for Percy's response.

The green-eyed boy coughed, not meeting Nico's gaze. “Um, no, that's all right. I'm good.”

Nico slowly nodded. “Uh-huh. Well, I could always send you some pics later without these pants on.”

Percy's eyes widened. “Really?” He asked, probably slightly too excitedly.

Nico rolled his eyes. “No, you moron. I find your chances of seeing me without clothes slightly abysmal.”

“Only slightly?” Percy grinned. “I'll take those odds.”

Nico rolled his eyes again as he went back to setting up their table, though a small smile now graced his lips. “You are insufferable,” he mumbled.

Class shortly after that, though if the teacher went over anything new, Percy could not say. For some odd reason, it was like there was a gravitational pull on his eyes towards Nico's ass. Though, if Nico noticed again, the boy did not comment on it or make Percy focus. Which was fine by Percy, because he was enjoying the view.

When class was finished and the two partners were cleaning up their station, they found themselves with a very unwelcome guest. “So,” Khione began, “I couldn't help but overhearing you two at the beginning of class.” The girl addressed both of them, but primarily stared at Nico with a distasteful glare. “I suppose it really is true that you turned yet another boy gay. What, did you charm him?”

Nico did not let the girl slow him down in cleaning up their table. “For your information, you mindless twit, I did not turn Luke gay. Contrary to popular belief, we are not dating. Not that it would matter to any of you, since you wouldn't date him either way, simply because of who he is.”

The girl scoffed. “Now that's just unfair. As we said about Apollo before he graduated, all you have to do is confess your sins and come into the Lord's loving embrace. But you and the rest of your lot are too far into your sin to ever be able to get redemption.”

“If by redemption, you mean hanging us from the nearest tree,” Nico mumbled. Khione glared at him. “There's nothing going on between Percy or myself, either.”

Khione flipped her hair over her shoulder, finally turning to face Percy. “It's not too late for you, though, Percy. We all talked it over, and we really do hope you decide to come to church. These people,” she said, motioning to Nico, “are only going to lead you to Satan.”

Percy had been packing up his bag while he listened to the two bicker. “Well then, hail Satan,” he chuckled. When Khione did not look amused, he shrugged. “I don't particularly believe in any higher deity, whether it be good or evil. But I do think you're being unreasonable with people that haven't done anything to you that you haven't deserved.”

Khione looked taken aback. She closed her mouth and straightened her shoulder. “You better be thankful I haven't told Kinzie about your so called 'bisexuality'.”

The taller of the two boys simply shrugged. “And? Kinzie and I are just friends.”

“Does she know that?” Khione asked, tapping her nails against the table. “But, then again, I'm sure it's just a phase. You should come pray about it in church.”

“No thanks,” Percy said dully. “After coming here, I find myself reminded at why Christians have such a bad rep these days. Because people like you don't focus on what the real message Jesus talked about was. Love.”

There was a dark look in Khione's eyes as she glared up at Percy. “Well, maybe I was wrong about you. Perhaps there is no saving your soul from hellfire.” She sneered as she turned to leave. “Have fun tonight, and I'll be having a word with Kinzie by this time tomorrow.”

“Don't care,” Percy mumbled as the girl disappeared out the door.

Nico blinked at him. “I really don't think I'll ever understand you,” the boy muttered. Percy tilted his head to the side. “You're just,” Nico motioned to all of Percy, “you. You're attractive...stop smiling, you asshole.” He sighed. “You're attractive, you're not intolerant, you put up with these people, you talk to us, and you're smarter than you look.”

Percy frowned. “Hey!”

Nico rolled his eyes. “My point is, I figured you'd want to fit in with the other kids around here, not go on a social suicide mission to hangout with us.”

Percy smiled and slung his backpack over his shoulder. “Well, maybe I think you guys are the 'cool kids'.” He gave Nico a small wave before leaving the boy standing there, dumfounded.

Everything seemed fine, for the most part, until lunch came around. Percy did not think much about it at the time, but perhaps he really should have. It was not until Bianca brought it up that he got slightly worried. The girl put down her fork and looked over to Luke. “Have you seen Nico?” She asked.

The blond's brow knitted together and he pursed his lips. “I figured he was in the library, or something.” Jason, Luke, Thalia, and Bianca were out of their seats in the next instant. “We'll be right back,” Luke told the table.

Medea sighed and sat down her drink. She stood up and slid her black sleeves up her arms. “I'll be back as well,” she muttered.

Without being addressed to go help look, Percy stood up and jogged after Medea. “You think he's in trouble?”

Now, Percy had not talked much with Medea since he moved into town. The few times he did, he was usually met by blank stares and rude comments. He was beginning to think that it ran in their family. But this time, the girl simply grunted at him, picking up the pace to catch up to the other four.

Luke threw open the door to the boys' restroom, instantly being greeted by shouts from within. The blond's face heated up from anger and his fists clenched at his sides. Before Thalia could get a hold on the blond, Luke had barged into the restroom.

“Hey! What the fuck is this?” Came Luke's angry voice.

Thalia cringed from the sheer sound of Luke's temper. Rolling her eyes, Medea shoved past the girl and went in after the blond. “What the hell have you done to my brother?” She shouted. Percy and the others were inside the restroom in the next second.

Nico was on the floor, a hand to his nose to try and stop the blood from gushing out. There was a dark bruise on the boy's forehead, though Percy could only imagine how the bullies had given it to the boy. Bianca was at her brother's side before Percy could blink, checking him over. She held onto him, shielding him from any further abuse that might come his way.

Not that the bullies were in any position to really inflict further injury on Nico. Luke had tossed one boy into a stall, where Medea was currently flushing his head in the toilet. And with a swift punch to the jaw, Luke sent another boy—who looked like he could be on the football team—to the floor with his own bloody nose.

Jason had a guy that Percy recognized from the baseball team pinned against the wall. Zethes was his name, if Percy remembered correctly. It did not look like the blond was going to do much else, until Jason drew back and sent his fist into the boy's ribs. Zethes fell to the floor, wheezing for breath and holding his sides.

Thalia narrowed her eyes at the last of the boys, who looked like he might make a run for it. She cracked her knuckles. “Don't even think about it.”

But he did, and Percy and Thalia grabbed him as he ran past. Percy jerked him loose of Thalia and slammed the boy down hard on the tile floor, knocking the breath out of the large boy. Glaring down at the boy, Thalia pressed her foot to his neck.

Rubbing his knuckles, Luke crouched down next to Bianca and Nico. “Is he okay?” The blond whispered.

Bianca did not look up from Nico. “I think so. His nose isn't broken, thankfully.” She frowned and attempted to lift her brother's shirt, who quickly shoved her hand away.

“I'm fine,” Nico muttered. He tried to stand to his feet, but did get very far in that.

Just then, the door flew open and in came Ms. Hestia. “What is going on in here?” She demanded.

“Nothing that we couldn't handle,” Medea answered, swiping a thumb across her lips.

The teacher did not seem amused. “Does anyone have a real answer for me?”

One of the boys beat the others to it. “They dragged us in here to beat us up.”

“Yeah, right,” Thalia muttered. The girl went to try and punch the guy, but Hestia caught her arm. “Sorry.”

Ms. Hestia sighed. “Jake, I somehow doubt that's what happened. Now, does anyone want to try again.” Her eyes fell to Nico. “Nico? Would you like to tell me?”

The boy pulled his hand away from his nose, inspecting the blood he found on his hand. “Not really, ma'am.”

“We found these guys in here bullying Nico,” Percy offered. Nico glared at him.

The teacher nodded. “I see.” She motioned to Nico. “Percy, would you help Bianca get him to the principal's office? Get Mrs. Millie to call his stepmother to pick him up.” She pointed to the others in the room. “As for the rest of you, you're going to come with me to see Chiron.”

After they were gone, Percy put Nico's arm around his shoulders to help Bianca carry Nico to the office. Nico glared at him still. “Why'd you have to say anything?”

“Because they didn't deserve to get away with it, or have it pinned on you.” Percy gave the boy a look that let Nico know he wasn't going to argue about this. Miraculously, it worked.

“Thank you,” Bianca whispered. Nico narrowed his eyes at her, but Bianca ignored him. “You didn't have to get involved.”

Percy shook his head. “It wasn't any trouble.” He frowned. “But why the principal's office? Why not the nurse?”

Bianca chuckled. “Mrs. Mellie is technically the school's nurse. She's qualified, if you doubt her capabilities.” She shrugged. “Apollo and Artemis's mother used to be the school nurse, but she passed away back when I was still pretty young. Not that the town liked it very much. The school board tried to have her removed, but Chiron would not let it stand. He's a breath of fresh air in this nightmare of a town.”

The rest of the trip down the hall was rather quiet. Percy kept looking over at Nico, who was still holding his nose. It did not make him happy, seeing the boy like this, but the most he could do was already done. Unless he wanted to catch Zethes after practice, but that would probably get Percy in trouble. And since it seemed like none of the people helping Nico were getting in trouble, Percy felt it best to leave it alone for now.

Percy held the door open to the school's office and Bianca helped her brother inside. Hestia must have just gotten the others to the office, as the door was closed just as they entered. Mrs. Mellie looked up from her desk, her eyes widening slightly at the sight of Nico.

“Oh my, I suppose this is the result of the fight they were just talking about,” she said as she stood to her feet and bounced over to a small sink they had in the office. Wetting a rag, she came to stand in front of Nico. The boy in the chair let her lift his head and wipe away the blood that had dripped down to his lips and chin.

While this was going on, Bianca had already tasked herself with picking up the phone they kept on the edge of the counter for student use. Percy could hear her talking to someone, but he kept his attention on Nico. His eyes watched as the secretary brushed the wet cloth against the boy's lips, removing all traces of blood from Nico's pale lips. When he looked up slightly, Percy found Nico watching him as the woman tended to his injuries. Neither boy said anything, nor did Nico even bother to roll his eyes. He just let Percy stand there, staring at him.

Bianca hung up the phone just as Mrs. Mellie was finishing cleaning Nico's face up and checking his bruises. Unlike with Bianca, Nico let the woman inspect his chest. Percy winced when he saw a dark circular bruise just below the boy's ribs.

Bianca sat down next to her brother. “How is he?”

Mrs. Mellie gathered her things from where she had put them down and moved back over to her desk to give the trio some room. In was always nice to seem someone nice in this town, without the fear and paranoia. But, then again, Percy did not think it was possible for Mrs. Mellie to have a single mean bone in her body, she was just so nice. “He'll be fine,” the woman finally announced. “His bruises will heal after a few days, and nothing was broken.”

Bianca nodded and turned to look at her brother. “Persephone will be here shortly to pick you up,” she said, brushing a few strands of hair out of her brother's face. “I can stay if you want, and wait for her to get here.”

Nico shook his head. “No, you should get back to lunch.”

“But-”

“I'll stay with him.”

Both di Angelo siblings stared up at Percy. The boy fidgeted under their dark stares. Even when they weren't angry, those eyes could pierce like knives. Bianca seemed to contemplate this, turning to her brother. Nico glared at her.

Percy shrugged. “I don't mind, really.”

Nico finally sighed. “Sure, whatever.”

Percy smiled and took a seat on the other side of the di Angelo boy. Bianca gave Percy a smile before kissing her brother's head and standing up. “Thanks, Percy.” She pointed a finger to her brother. “Behave yourself, and tell Persephone to text me if she needs me.”

“I'm sure we can manage,” Nico grumbled.

When Bianca was gone, Percy let his eyes fall on the boy next to him. “If you're okay, what would you need help with?”

Nico snapped his head in Percy's direction, narrowing his eyes. With those red contacts, Percy was not sure if he should be intimidated or aroused. At the moment, he felt more the latter. “Not with me, something else,” Nico finally replied. “I guess since I'm being picked up, I'll be helping our parents set up for tonight.”

Nico rubbed at his neck, which finally drew Percy's attention to another injury. There was a small cut there. By the looks of it, Nico's necklace had either cut him during his scuffle with the bullies, or the bullies had jerked the chain before Luke had interrupted them.

Percy motioned to the boy's chest. “I like your necklace, by the way.”

Nico looked down at his chest and then back up at Percy. “Thanks,” he mumbled. “Family heirloom, been in my family for years.”

“I take it the same applies to everyone else and their families?”

Nico nodded, squeezing the chain. “Just a family crest, no big deal, like you find in a lot of old families.” The boy glanced over to Mrs. Millie to see if she was paying attention. She wasn't.

Percy let out a small chuckle, scooting a little closer to Nico. “A skull? Isn't that a little morbid?”

Nico gave Percy a serious look, some of his hair falling into his face. “Do you have a problem with it?”

The green-eyed boy quickly pursed his lips and shook his head. “Nope, not me. I like it.” Nico eyed him funny. “It looks good on you.”

They fell into a slightly awkward silence after that. A heavy tension had settled between them, and Percy had to wonder if he had crossed a line. He did not mean it to sound like he was insulting Nico's family, because he really wasn't. He had just never really seen a family crest like the one Nico had.

The bell to signal the end of lunch rang out through the school building a little over fifteen minutes later. Nico was staring at the clock by this point, tapping his fingers against his leg. Chiron had dismissed Luke and the others almost five minutes ago, which all of the bullies had taken the opportunity to glare at Nico. Zethes had shot Percy a dirty look before leaving, and Percy figured he'd be hearing about this before or after practice today.

“You need to get to class,” Nico mumbled, not taking his eyes off the clock.

Percy shook his head. “I'm fine.”

Nico rolled his eyes just as the door to the office opened. The woman that had picked Hazel up before came inside, taking her sunglasses off of her beautiful eyes, which Percy could not quite decide what color they were. Her skin was pale, even though she looked like someone who spent most of her time outside working the garden. And her long, black hair flowed behind her, curling at the tips.

Nico frowned when she looked down at him, her fingers still resting on her sunglasses from when she put them on her head. “Well, I suppose it could have been worse,” came her alluring voice. She held out a hand, tilting Nico's chin up. She let out a breath. “We'll see if we can't clean that up better before your father sees.”

Just then, Chiron's door opened and the principal stepped out into the office. “Ah, Mrs. di Angelo.” The man stood up straight, which was very tall, Percy might add. “The bullies which did this to your son have already been suspended and will be tasked with cleaning the restrooms after school for a week upon their return.”

The woman smiled and it was like a ray of sunshine was cast into the room. “Thank you, Chiron.” She patted Nico on the head after the boy stood up. “I suppose I'll need to get this one home then.”

Chiron gave her a nod, bowing slightly. “Have a good day then.”

When Persephone led Nico from the office, Percy followed. “I always liked that man,” Persephone said, “so polite.” She then noticed Percy and blinked. “Oh, hello. You must be the new kid in town that has been all the talk.” She smiled and held out her hand. “Persephone di Angelo.”

Percy shook her hand, his head feeling light. She was really pretty. Nico glared over at him, and Percy got the feeling that he was going to hear a comment later about how Percy better not hit on his stepmother. Not that Percy would. No, he had his sights on the woman's stepson already.

“Percy Jackson,” he finally managed to reply.

She smiled and squeezed Nico's arm. “Well, I've already been hearing some about you from this one, my mother, and even my husband. But I've yet to meet you myself.” She smiled and readjusted her sunglasses back onto her face. “Nico was right, you are quite handsome.”

Nico stiffened under her touch, his face turning red. “Persephone!”

The woman waved him off. “Now then,” she continued, “what had you in the office? I expected Bianca or Luke to be waiting with him.”

“Ah.” Percy rubbed the back of his head. “I told Bianca she could get back to lunch, since she didn't really get to finish her food. I didn't mind waiting with Nico.”

One of her finely manicured nails was pointed in Percy's direction. “Luke informed me that you stood up for Nico during the festival, and I can only assume you got involved on Nico's behalf today.” Nico glared up at his stepmother, already predicting what was about to come out of her mouth. “Why don't you come over and have dinner with us soon? Mother already wanted to cook you another meal, so we could just kill two birds with one stone.”

Nico's glare turned upon Percy. Seeing this, the green-eyed boy smirked back at the pale boy. “I would be honored.” Persephone beamed at him and Nico only glared more. “I'll let Nico know when I am free.”

The woman clapped her hands together. “Wonderful! I shall let everyone know that we'll be expecting you in the nearby future.”

Percy smiled and waved as Persephone dragged a glaring Nico out of the school building. The boy chuckled when he saw Nico start to flail his arms in Persephone's direction. Well then, that had been a little unexpected.

Originally, Percy had wondered if there was conflict with Persephone and the rest of Nico's house, but that did not seem to be the case. Perhaps Nico did not get along with his father then? Whatever the case, Percy was still in the dark about why Nico did not like being at home, or the unexplained bruises that were on Nico's back.

\------------------------

That was a haunted house?

Percy wanted to voice his disappointment, but the others seemed to be in a good mood, so he did not say anything. However, he was sure his aunt's underwear drawer was scarier than that excuse for a haunted house.

Not surprisingly, the event was primarily just a way for the town to scare its children of the devil. Witches, demons, and fire showcased most of the inside of the old house that was being used for the event, which thankfully was not very big. Percy figured he would have an easier time being scared watching My Little Pony than what that put him through. He had found himself bored through most of it.

Though, it did not seem like Kinzie or the others were particularly scared either, just laughing mostly.

Percy threw on a smile as the group walked to Reyna's car. It seemed Khione had yet to talk to Kinzie, as the girl seemed to still be on good terms with him. “So,” Kinzie said, clinging onto Percy's arm, “did you have fun?”

“Yep,” Percy lied. No reason to spoil their good mood, he supposed. Not like it would do any good either; the town was set in their prejudices.

Percy slipped his hands into his pockets, partly trying to figure out a nice way of getting Kinzie off his arm without hurting her feelings. At least she was not as bad as most people in this town. Obviously not as nice as she could be, but what could Percy expect from someone who got a little brainwashed by the rest of the town?

Reyna popped a jolly rancher in her mouth from the bag of candy she and everyone else that went in the haunted house got at the end. “So, our parents are busy tonight, if you guys want to come over and watch some horror movies.”

Percy got a bad feeling about things when Kinzie looked up at him with a smile. “You want to go?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh, um, no, I think I'll pass. I need to get caught up on some homework. Mrs. Nakamura was not very kind today.”

Kinzie pouted up at him. “Aw, come on, just for a little while?”

Something caught Percy's eye. He frowned and looked at the night sky in the distance. In the distance was the light of a fire rising up over the woods. “What's that?”

The others turned and followed his gaze. Octavian scuffed his shoe on the ground. “Probably some kids from school trying to scare each other in the woods.” He paused for a moment to open the back seat of Reyna's car. “Or the witches doing one of their rituals.”

Figures, Percy thought, they'd find a way to bring this back to Luke and the others. However, if it was whatever Jason was talking about doing, then Percy figured it was probably more entertaining than this. Though, Percy had also not been invited, so it was not like he could just show up. Besides, what if it was not them?

Percy opened the door for Kinzie, who slid in. Once Percy sat beside of her, she looked to him again. “So, do you think you can spare an hour or two for a movie?”

Percy looked down at his phone. “No, I think I'll have to pass tonight.”

Just because he did not get invited, did not mean he could not call and see if he could change that.

The others bid him goodnight once he was back at his apartment. Kinzie tried one more time to get him to join them, but Percy found himself looking at the fire in the distance again. “No, perhaps next time,” he told her, which still got him a frown in return.

By the time he got into his apartment, his phone was already dialing Luke's number. The green-eyed boy paced around his small living room as it rang. When no answer came, Percy fell on his couch with a groan.

After trying Annabeth, Beckendorf, Leo, Thalia, and Nico, Percy finally gave up. Did none of them have their phones on them? Percy stared at his phone with a frown. It was half past ten, and he found himself with absolutely nothing to do. Maybe he should have gone to watch the horror movie. His thumb hovered over Kinzie's name in his phone book.

Deciding against it, Percy played video games for nearly an hour, until he wound up falling asleep on the couch. As soon as his eyes shut and his head hit the cushion, his world turned black and smoked filled his vision. His body was torn away, like he was an invisible force staring into the abyss.

Percy found himself staring at a campfire in the middle of the woods. As the smoke evaporated, he found four girls—all rather young—dancing around the fire. “Witches! Witches! Witches!” They chanted happily, laughing as they skipped and danced.

There was no telling how old each of them were, but the youngest could barely pass for ten. The oldest probably was around Percy's age, if not a year or two younger. They continued to dance as they let their hair down.

A gust of wind blew the fire out, which scared the girls. However, their night of fright was far from over.

“So,” came a male voice from the darkness, “we hear you girls know a thing or two about witches.” The 's' was dragged out like the hiss of a snake.

“Wh-who's there?” The oldest girl asked cautiously.

The fire flickered back to its full force and the girls found themselves surrounded by thirteen teenagers, both male and female. But at the center were three that Percy had seen before: Kronos, Uranus, and the boy that reminded him of Nico.

The eldest girl peered forward. “Kronos? Is that you?” She seemed to relaxed. “You nearly gave us a fright.”

Kronos did not seem as amused. In fact, there was a dark glint in his eyes as he stared at the girls like some hungry predator. “You four have become quite something in town.” He finally smiled, stepping a few feet closer to the girls. “Mercy, tell me, doth thou think I am a witch?”

The eldest girl gave a nervous laugh. “Why of course not, don't be silly.”

One of the girls, a brunette, stepped forward from behind Kronos. “But you four pointed all those finger. All of those people were witches?”

The boy that looked like Nico nodded. “Surely Venus is right. But perhaps Salem is just infected with witches,” he said. The brunette named Venus smirked at him.

Mercy just laughed again. “'Tis but a game, don't be silly. All of those people hath wronged us.”

Kronos slowly nodded. Finally reaching out, he ran the back of his hand down Mercy's cheek. “I see. So, what thou art saying is that thou are having this town go on a witch hunt for your own amusement?” Mercy and the other three girls remained silent, no longer laughing. “I would think that real witches might not like that, as thou hast now created a fear in the town.”

Mercy shifted. “Kronos, I-”

Mercy's mouth clamped shut and her skin shifted and moved. Under her skin, her blood vessels became more apparent. Kronos's eyes turned from a near brown into pure gold. “Now, all of you, open your mouths.”

One by one, all four of the girls fell to their knees and opened their mouths. Tears streamed down their faces as their hands indicated they were struggling to move, but it was like an invisible rope had been tied around them.

Kronos snapped his fingers and Venus, the boy that looked like Nico, Uranus, and another boy stepped forward. In each of their hands was a long snake. The last boy handed his snake to Kronos. Kronos smiled and ran his finger across the snake's head.

“Thank you, Mercury,” Kronos said to the boy, who smirked and fell back with the others.

The boy that looked like Nico grabbed the youngest girl by the throat and put the head of the snake to her mouth. With eyes wide with fear, the girl helplessly watched as the snake slid down her throat until the tip of the tail vanished into her mouth.

Venus and Uranus repeated the same process, the girls letting out nearly silent screams as the snakes slithered down their throats. But when it came to Kronos, he crouched down in front of Mercy. Tears streamed down her face and Kronos frowned.

With a snap of his fingers, Mercy fell forward and sobbed. “Why? Why are you doing this?”

“You wanted to play with witches, didn't you?” A sinister smirk spread across Kronos's lips. “You've started something that we cannot let just run rampant without having some control over the situation.” He reached out and grabbed her throat. Mercy's head snapped back and her mouth fell open. “You see, we'll be running these witch trials now, Mercy. We'll decide who dies. And the funny thing is, not a single witch is going to end up dying.”

And with that, Kronos held the snake up to Mercy's face. The snake reared back and opened its mouth, showing off its large teeth. With a hiss, the snake dove into Mercy's mouth, letting its tail brush against the corner of the girl's lips as it disappeared down her throat.

Kronos stood up and his eyes returned to normal. “Mercy?” He called out to the girl, who now had a blank look. “I need you and your friends to accuse the servant Tituba. The town wants a witch, and they can have what they want to believe is one.”

“Yes, of course,” Mercy replied before her and her friends stood to their feet and walked off into the woods.

Kronos watched them leave. Uranus came to stand beside him, his eyes also watching the girls. “Tituba? Why her?”

Kronos shrugged. “She wants to dabble in magic, so let them believe she is an actual witch. The world will never actually know she is not truly a witch and doubt can be cast upon her master's house.” His dark gaze finally looked upon Uranus. “Mother wants the town to burn itself to the ground for what they did to father, and I aim to see her wish fulfilled.”

The others all nodded and started heading into the woods. Kronos turned to the one that looked like Nico, who was crouching by the fire. With a soft blow of the boy's lips, the fire instantly died. In the darkness, the boy smiled at Kronos.

“And the rest?”

Kronos remained still, his face uncertain in the darkness. “She won't be able to breathe a word if she's dead. Just keep her quiet until the time comes.”

There was a silence from the other boy. When he shifted, he brushed past Kronos. “Your mother said-”

“Do you not trust me?” Kronos asked, turning his head to look at the other boy. The brown-eyed boy remained silent and disappeared into the woods. “Tartarus!” Kronos shouted after him.

Percy jerked up, his breathing beyond ragged. Sweat covered his face, his arms, and his chest. And he only became more alarmed when he found himself in the middle of the woods. Leaves stuck to his hand as he stumbled onto his feet. Percy spun around several times, trying to figure out where he was. He could barely see anything, let alone decipher a direction.

“That dream,” Percy whispered.

He clutched his head and knelt down on his haunches. That name, that was the name from that tombstone back in the graveyard. How did he get here all the way from Salem? Before, Percy had just figured they were dreams, but now he was not as certain. Tartarus di Angelo had been the name on the tombstone Percy had tripped over the night he had dinner at Luke's house.

So, how was it he was dreaming about a real person from the past?

There was no way this was even possible, Percy kept repeating in his head. Kronos and Tartarus, they were supposed to be just dreams, not real people. Or maybe it was just a coincidence, Percy's mind supplied. There was no way he could have really dreamt about one of Nico's ancestors. It had to be just a coincidence that the two had the same name. And it was not like Percy had heard the name 'di Angelo' in there.

Still, Percy found himself in a state of panic. This was too weird for him. Because, it couldn't have been real. After what those kids had done to those girls, there was simply no way it could have been something that actually happened. There was no such thing as magic, there was no such thing as an actual witch.

Percy kept repeating this to himself as he stumbled his way through the woods. As he stared into the darkness, Percy could see a glimpse of a light breaking through the woods. Figuring it was his best option, Percy let his legs carry him in that direction.

“I really need to stop waking up in the woods,” Percy muttered to himself.

As he got closer, Percy could start to make out some voices coming from the direction of the fire. Though, as he got closer, the words became less appealing, as he heard things like bones, draining blood, and tongues. He was starting to wonder if it was a good idea to even inspect the fire, but he also tried to keep in mind that it was Halloween and was probably just some kids goofing off.

Percy stepped behind a tree and peered into the small clearing where the fire was at. Relief flooded over him as he found Luke, Annabeth, and the others laughing and standing around the open fire. A goblet and knife was being passed around, the latter worrying Percy slightly. Especially when, after each drink, each of the kids would prick their finger and drop their blood into the fire. The fire hissed and grew larger with each donation the teenagers made.

Only ten wore robes, though. The only person that Percy found was missing was Nico. Jason took the knife and slashed across his palm. Running his finger across his palm, the blond smeared his blood on his face in a indistinguishable pattern.

When the blond was finished, he threw the dagger towards the fire, where it hovered and straightened so that the hilt was pointed upwards and the blade towards the ground. The blood from the others slowly rose from the flames and coated the blade, sliding along its metal surface and then soaking into a ruby gem that was embedded into the hilt.

“It is ready,” Jason announced. “Now we just wait for the final piece.”

Percy was not going to stick around to find out what that meant. Staggering slightly, the boy nearly fell on his ass. Nearly tripping three more times, Percy ran as fast as his legs would carry him until he collided with a hooded figure in the darkness.

“Ow,” came a familiar voice.

The hood had fallen away upon impact, and Percy now found Nico laying on the ground beside him. The boy's eyes bulged as he staggered to his feet.

Nico jumped up. “Percy? What are you doing out here?” He hissed, but keeping his voice down.

“N-nothing!”

Nico narrowed his eyes. “What did you see?”

Percy's eyes reflected his panic. Without answering, the boy ran. He nearly tripped over a fallen tree, but Percy refused to let that stop him. This was impossible, he kept repeating in his head. He had to still be dreaming.

The green-eyed boy skidded to a halt when Nico appeared in front of him. The boy turned and ran straight into a tree. Clutching his face, Percy stumbled a few steps away. Nico let out a sigh. “Why are you running?” Nico asked.

Percy took off again. This was not possible, it just wasn't. There was no such thing as magic. This was the real world, not some book or movie, things like this did not happen. “Just wake up,” Percy told himself as he ran.

Percy hunched over, trying to catch his breath. He stared into the darkness, seeing if Nico was still following him. There was no sign of the boy anywhere. But that did not mean Nico was not there. Percy had just witnessed him appear out of thin air!

The green-eyed boy's brow furrowed as he witnessed the shadows darken where he had just come from. His face paled as, once again, Nico emerged. The boy let out a sigh and slowly walked towards Percy.

“You want to let me talk about this?” Nico grumbled.

Normally, Percy would be happy to oblige. And it wasn't even that he was scared of Nico or the others—okay maybe scared a little. But that was because they could use fucking magic!

Percy tried to run, but ended up stumbling and falling face first into gravel. Bright lights hit his eyes and soon a car horn blared in his ears. Percy's heart stopped and he could see his life flash before his eyes as the car neared his head.

What happened next felt like a dream, but something Percy would never forget. Nico, now in the road, flung his arm in the air and sent the car sailing into a nearby tree. The car bounced off the tree and landed in a nearby ditch, the horn relentlessly blaring at the two boys.

Percy stared up at Nico with wide eyes. “You-you killed them!”

Nico glanced at the car, scratching his cheek. “That? No, they're just unconscious. They won't remember a thing.” He shrugged. “They'll probably need to go to the hospital, but I wouldn't kill people for just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He crouched down a few feet away from Percy. “Besides, they almost ran you over. A simple 'thank you' would suffice.”

“You-” Percy pointed his finger at the calm boy. “You lied to me!”

Nico frowned at him. “Did not!” The brown-eyed boy tapped his lips. “What did I not lie about?”

Percy jumped to his feet, not letting his eyes off Nico. “You told me you weren't a witch!”

“Oh.” Nico still seemed relaxed. With the quirk of his brow, the boy shrugged. “I'm not a witch.” Percy gave him a disbelieving look, motioning to the flipped car. “I'm a warlock, duh. Do I look like a girl?”

Percy's head felt very dizzy. “I need to lie down,” he muttered. Stumbling once, Nico caught him and sat him back down on the gravel road. “Thanks.” Percy frowned but did not move away when Nico sat down beside him. “So, magic...”

Nico seemed amused by Percy's shock. “Yes, I did just do that. I didn't think you saw me flip that car.” The boy cast his gaze to the road, where he picked up a rock. “Though, I suppose you also saw our ritual.”

“So you were doing a ritual,” Percy whispered.

Nico's eyes were dull when Percy looked up. “Do you hate us now?”

Hate them? They had been good friends so far, and Percy had not really found anything wrong with them. Sure he might get annoyed with them every now and then, but that was common amongst all friends. He was just caught off-guard, and it was not like Nico was being inconsiderate about it either; the boy was actually being very patient. Percy just needed some time to get his head around all of this.

Percy snorted, laughing. Nico looked at him like he was crazy. “Of course not,” Percy chuckled. “Just, um...” Percy motioned to Nico. “You know, a little freaked out...but in a good way.” He scratched his head. “Is there a good way to be freaked out?”

Nico just rolled his eyes. “I will never understand you, Percy Jackson.” He finally touched Percy's arm and the green-eyed boy smiled at him. “At least you seem pretty calm now.”

“Just needed a moment to lose my mind.” Percy brought his legs up to his chest. “But, so, you practice witchcraft then?” Nico nodded. “And that means the town was right about you?”

“Yes and no,” Nico replied. He stood up and offered Percy a hand, which the older boy took. Percy's legs still felt like goo. “We do practice witchcraft, but we don't worship Satan or any form of a devil. In fact, we don't believe in either of those things. For some reason, the Christian church decided it got to tell even those that practice the craft what their religion involved. I mean, they think we have to get our power from some evil force.”

“Oh.” There were so many questions running through Percy's mind at the moment, and he simply did not know where to start. He was still stuck on the fire and the car flipping. “This is a lot to process.”

Nico nodded, keeping his eyes on Percy. “I can imagine. You're the second mortal to know about us in this town.”

“The other?”

A smile touched at Nico's lips. “Grover. Long story.”

Percy shook his head to try and clear it. “Hold up.” He held up his hands and made the timeout motion. “So, what about the town? They call you witches all the time, yet you guys don't seem to worry that much.”

Nico gave him a dull look. “You really think we'd be worried about people with knives, guns, and fire when you saw what I just did? Please,” the boy scoffed. It made Percy smile slightly. “No, like I told you before, they think we just worship the devil. There are two types of witches in the reality of things: practicing witches and magical witches.”

“So, what's the difference?”

Nico glanced to the woods. “Um, maybe another time.” He smiled up at Percy. “Just...I'm glad you're taking this so well.”

“Taking what so well?” The two boys froze at the new voice.

Luke stood at the edge of the woods, no longer wearing his robe. And now that Percy's head was clear, he noticed Nico's was also gone. Luke stepped onto the road, his eyes instantly shifting over to where the car was situated in the ditch.

“Would anyone like to fill me in on what just happened?” The blond asked. “Drunk driver?”

Nico let out a sigh. With a glance in Percy's direction, Nico gave Luke an answer that would spell the end to Percy's life as he knew it. “We have a problem.”


	10. A Louisiana Haunting

“Please don't freak out,” Nico begged as Luke groaned in front of him, palming his face. Percy blinked between the two as Nico began to flail his arms. “It's not a big deal, and you said yourself that we can trust Percy!”

Luke let out another groan. “I meant with normal things, Nico.” The blond peaked through his fingers at the flipped car. “And they are going to need an ambulance, more than likely.”

The brown-eyed boy rolled his eyes, and with a wave of a hand, the people in the car vanished. “There, all better.” Nico motioned to Percy. “And look, he's completely fine with it all.”

Percy scratched his cheek. “Well-”

Nico narrowed his eye. “Unless you have something positive to add to this, stay quiet.”

The green-eyed boy held up his hands in defense. “I was just saying that it's still a bit strange, but I think I can deal with it.”

“See?”

Luke let out a sigh. “Nico,” the blond groaned.

“Don't Nico me, you ass.” The pale boy crossed his arms. “So we don't tell the rest.”

Luke chewed on his lip, his eyes darting between Nico and Percy. Finally, the blond let out a sigh and slid his hands into his back pockets. “I'm fine with it, really I am, Percy, but there are rules.” Nico narrowed his eyes, but Luke held up a hand. “I'll get the other Firsts, and we'll talk it over in a small group. Sound okay?”

Nico gave a small nod.

“Good.” Luke's blue eyes sparkled at Percy in the moonlight. “Nico will take you to the cemetery. I'll be there shortly with a few of the others.” He took a few steps before turning back to Nico, holding up his hands as if to tell the boy to wait. “Just...don't tell him too much, since we don't know if he'll get to keep his memories afterward.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Nico mumbled as Luke disappeared into the woods. With a sigh, he motioned to Percy and led the taller boy into the woods.

“So, um, he wasn't being serious about the memory thing, was he?” Percy asked hesitantly, trying to stick close to Nico in the darkness.

“Hard to say. The majority people that you'll be standing before like you, so you have that in your favor.”

“Why do I feel like there's a 'but' in there?”

“But,” Nico began, “it'll depend on what Jason thinks.”

Percy let out a groan. “Great. Is it just me, or does he not like me.”

Nico held back a low branch to let Percy pass. “I wouldn't say that he dislikes you, but me and him are...complicated.”

“So, you aren't single?” Percy stopped, staring down into Nico's dark eyes.

The pale boy gave him an annoyed look. “Are you really going to ask that right now?” He sighed and began walking again. “I think you have more important things to worry about, losing your memory being the least of your problems.”

Percy gulped at that. “You're not going to, like, cut my tongue out, are you?”

“Possibly.”

Green eyes widened in the darkness. Nico was just kidding, wasn't he? But from the serious look he got when Nico chanced a glance back at him, Percy got the feeling the boy was dead serious. Clutching his throat, Percy jogged to catch up to a small path that Nico had diverted onto.

Once he was in step beside Nico, Percy looked down at the other boy. “But I thought you said Grover knows?”

Nico nodded. “He does, and our parents know about that. He's just too scared to actually say anything.” He grinned up at the green-eyed boy. “But for better reasons than the rest of the town.” And then the smile was gone, replaced by a far off look. “But, in truth, it was sort of over something that happened a few years before I was born.”

The treeline finally broke and Percy spotted the cemetery across the road. He took in a deep breath and slid down the hill with Nico. He would admit that he was a little nervous, since he pretty much risked any possible horrible fate that awaited him if the group did not vote in his favor.

Nico opened up the gate for him and they stepped inside. Without saying anything, Nico sat down on one of the tombstones, his legs dangling off the side. He smirked as Percy began to pace in circles.

It was not long before Percy began to hear raised voices.

“This isn't acceptable. What was Nico thinking?” That one was Jason.

“He shouldn't be getting involved in this,” came Annabeth's slightly more calm voice.

“Well, this should be interesting,” Nico said, snapping his fingers and summoning a ball of fire. Tossing his hand back, he threw the ball at a small brazier near one of the tombstones.

The gate swung open and in came several of the kids, and they slowly gathered around Percy and Nico. For the most part, Percy recognized all of them, save for two.

The first was a blond boy with tan skin and short blond hair, probably around the same age as Percy. He had a slight athletic build to him, and his blue eyes carried a warmth in them.

The second was slightly taller with curly black hair that managed to get into his eyes. He was buffer than most of the group there, save for Beckendorf. But the thing that stood out the most to Percy was the way his blue eyes seemed to not quite line up properly.

Silena tapped her finger to her lips as she stared at Percy intently. Beckendorf stood behind her, giving Percy a small thumbs up. It did not make Percy feel any better. Annabeth had her lips pressed into a thin line, shaking her head lightly. Frank fidgeted slightly, shifting his weight every few seconds. Luke rubbed at his mouth, shooting Percy a lopsided smile.

Katie was there, biting her nails as she tried her best not to look at Percy. That really did not make Percy feel any better. But the only one that looked happy to see him was Rachel, who grinned and waved at him. Smiling a little, Percy gave her a nervous wave.

Nico, however, seemed perfectly calm as he sat on the tombstone, inspecting his nails. Jason walked around the rest of the group to stand at the front, between them and Percy. Luke stepped forward as well, his arms crossed.

“Jason, just listen,” Luke began.

The other blond narrowed his eyes. “This is not acceptable, Luke. Not only has he seen a ritual, but Nico blatantly used his powers in front of him.”

Nico simply shrugged. “Wasn't easy, let me tell you.”

Jason gave him a dull look. “I've seen you rip a tree out of the ground, don't give me the 'it wasn't easy' bullshit.”

“I meant chasing him down,” Nico mumbled, biting at one of his nails. The boy shrugged. “He runs really fast.”

Jason let out a long sigh. “Can you even try to take this seriously?”

Nico smiled and crossed his legs, sitting up straight. “Of course.”

The blond groaned. “Can I hear some other opinions?” He begged.

Annabeth motioned to Percy. “It's not that I don't trust you, Percy, it's just that I don't think getting you involved in this is a good idea.” She pursed her lips. “If we allowed it, you'd have to keep quiet about knowing anything, even from the others. There's no way our parents would allow this.”

“No,” Jason began, “they wouldn't. Which is why I'm in favor of blanking his memory.”

Luke placed an arm in front of Percy. “I don't think you're the one that needs to do that. Knowing you, you'd probably screw around with his mind to benefit yourself.” Jason narrowed his eyes. “Tell me I'm wrong.”

Jason grunted. “Fine, whatever. Still, we need to make a decision on this.”

Beckendorf placed his hands on Silena's shoulders and the girl sighed. “Percy, we don't mind that you know.” She motioned to the green-eyed boy. “You've been a good friend to us ever since you moved here, and I feel this might allow you to become closer to us.” She glanced at Jason. “I'm in favor of a trial period.”

Beckendorf nodded. “If he passes, perhaps we could look into telling the others, and maybe even our parents.” He grinned at Percy. “I trust him to keep our secret.”

Percy opened his mouth to say something, but Luke shot him a glare to silence him. The green-eyed boy looked to Nico, who smiled. Perhaps it was best if he did not speak right now. He let out a breath, shifting his weight.

Jason arched a brow. “Frank?”

The tall Asian boy furrowed his brow. “I don't...see the harm in a trial period. Silena's right, Percy's been a good friend to us. Even you can appreciate how he's stood up for us. He even got in that fight in the bathroom!”

The blond crossed his arms, unhappy of the odds turning against him. “Will? Dakota? Care to weigh in here?” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Please tell me you two can be sensible here.”

But it seemed the blond had no qualms with Percy. In fact, he smiled and held his hand out for Percy to shake. “Will Solace. I believe you've met the unfortunate relation that is my cousin Apollo.” The blond grinned wider when he noticed the dark look he was getting from Jason. “Oh, come on, Jase, it's not going to hurt anything.”

Dakota shrugged. “I don't know, perhaps we should nip it in the bud before things get out of hand. Maybe do the dog thing again.”

Jason patted Dakota on the back. “Thank you! Finally someone that sees reason.”

However, Jason cringed when Rachel cleared her throat. “I think it's a good idea.” She smiled at Percy. “He's supposed to know.”

“And how do you know that?” Jason grumbled.

“Because I had a dream about him before he moved here.” She motioned around them. “We were all standing here, and he was standing there, looking all nervous like he is now.” Her hand briefly hovered over Nico's general direction. “And...never mind.” She blew out a breath. “He's just supposed to know.”

Luke crossed his arms. “Jason, can't we just let this go, so we can all go to bed? It's late, man.” He motioned in Percy's direction. “I trust him, and I vouch for him.”

“No!” Thunder boomed overhead when Jason glared at the other blond. “That's final.”

Annabeth sighed. “Jason-”

The blond raised his eyebrows at her. “I'm sorry, Annabeth, but my say is final.” He turned his attention to Percy. “I'm sorry, but I can't risk everyone's safety like this. If the town got even the slightest hint of something about us, we'd be screwed.”

Nico finally hopped off of the tombstone. “Jason,” he began, “didn't we agree that you were going to go easier on Percy?” The blond in question slumped his shoulders. “Is it too much to ask that Percy get a chance at proving himself?” He took a step back. “You still have the final say, but I think he deserves a chance.”

Jason scrunched his lips, his eyes darting over to where Percy stood. Letting out a long breath, the blond let his arms drop to his side. “One chance.” He gave Percy a serious stare. “Look, I don't mind you, Percy, I don't. And I'm sorry if I sound like an asshole right now, but I'm trying to look out for the rest of the group.” Percy gave a small nod. “Especially the younger ones, who don't know how to defend themselves like the rest of us do.”

“I understand,” Percy whispered.

With an intake of breath, Jason nodded. “Good.” He pursed his lips. “Just...don't let us down, okay?”

Percy finally managed to swallow the lump that had been in his throat for the past few minutes. His shoulders visibly relaxed for all of two seconds before he found his body flying through the air, the air being knocked out of him when his back collided with the stone wall of the mausoleum. Percy clutched at his throat, as he could slowly feel it tighten.

“I'm disappointed in all of you,” came a strangely familiar voice from nowhere.

Right before Percy's eyes, a ball of light appeared in front of the others. It slowly grew and took form until Apollo stood in the cemetery. The blond had his hand outstretched, gripping at Percy, though he was several feet away.

“You know what we in the coven usually do to mortals that go poking their noses in things like this, and yet you all are letting him off the hook.” He narrowed his eyes at the group. “I shudder to think what this coven might come to if our Firsts are this weak.” His eyes fell on Jason. “And I'm especially disappointed in you, cousin. What would your father think?”

“Shouldn't you be with the adults,” Luke grumbled.

Apollo's eyes, which usually looked so bright, were venomous. “We finished already, thought I'd come to see how everything was going here. And to pick up Will.” The aforementioned boy gave Apollo a slight nod. Apollo pointed a finger at Percy. “I'm not letting him leave here with the knowledge of what we are!”

Jason, who had just been on Percy's side, became awfully quiet. He stared down at his feet, offering no help to Percy. The green-eyed boy kicked at the wall, trying to raise himself in an attempt to get a breath.

“Let him go, Apollo!” Annabeth yelled, yanking on the back of the blond's shirt, but Apollo just flicked his hand and the girl was jerked backwards by some roots. His dark eyes shot over to Percy. “Sorry about this, Percy. Nothing personal.”

Percy's could no longer breathe, and he was beginning to feel lightheaded. And while he wasn't sure, Percy had the suspicion that the back of his head was bleeding from hitting the marble wall behind him.

“Stop!”

Apollo's grip on Percy vanished and the green-eyed boy fell to the ground, gasping for breath. When he looked up, Nico stood between him and Apollo. The blond narrowed his eyes, reaching out for Percy again. But nothing ever came. Apollo hissed out a curse when he looked down and found skeletal hands gripping his ankles.

Percy wasn't sure where Nico got a knife, but the boy slid the blade across his palm and showed it to Apollo. “I vouch for him, with my blood.”

“I invoke my right as Head of House Solace,” Apollo hissed.

Nico stood defiant. “And I invoke mine as First to my father, Head of House di Angelo.” Percy wasn't sure if it was just the lack of air he had been getting, but it looked like there was a dark outline surrounding Nico. “By that right, I command you to stand down!”

No one spoke. Apollo glared down at Percy before returning his gaze to Nico. The blond thrust his finger at Nico's chest. “You better know what you are doing. This on your head now.” With another dark look at Percy, Apollo turned and began to walk off.

“And you won't tell the others?” Jason called after his cousin.

The older blond gave a wave over his shoulder. “Yeah, whatever,” he muttered.

Nico and Luke crouched down beside Percy. “You okay, man?” Luke asked.

“Uh-huh,” Percy answered dizzily. Nico grinned at him before getting Luke to help him get Percy to his feet. “Thanks.”

Nico rubbed his arm. “Well, looks like you get to keep your pretty face after all.”

Percy grinned like an idiot. “I knew-”

Nico's eyes widened and he caught Percy as the green-eyed boy nearly fell down. He sighed as he sat Percy on the ground. Nico bit his lip and looked up at Luke. “I've got him, if you want to get the others home before our parents start to worry.”

Luke gave a nod. “Okay, guys, we need to get to bed,” he called to the others.

Before leaving, Will jogged over to them. “Again, sorry about my cousin.” He patted Percy on the shoulder. “Maybe I'll see you again, dude.”

Percy blinked a few times, trying to get everything to stop spinning for him. Nico smiled and sat down beside him, bringing his knees up to his chest. Percy rubbed the back of his head, wincing when his fingers touched at the bruise.

“Here,” Nico whispered, “let me see.” Percy's heart pounded in his chest when Nico ran his fingers through the green-eyed boy's hair. And just like that, the pain was gone. Nico smiled at him. “All better. I don't think you have a concussion, or at least I hope not. I'm not much of a healer.”

Percy touched at the back of his head again, relieved when he found no lump. “But you just fixed me up.”

Nico gave a small nod, regarding Percy from the corner of his eye. “That's sort of like how most people in a country speak in a common tongue.” He took in a breath, turning his gaze to the moon overhead. “Magic is complicated. There's common forms of magic, like what I just did...and flipping the car.”

“Telekinesis,” Percy added.

The brown-eyed boy smiled, but did not look away from the moon. “In the broad sense of the term. But what Apollo did to you was completely different. That sort of goes into house magic.”

Percy furrowed his brow. “House magic?”

Nico finally looked at him, giving Percy a contemplative look. “If I trust you with all of this, you swear you won't burn us?” He cringed slightly. “I don't mean that in the literal sense.”

Percy gave a small nod. “I promise.” He held out a hand for Nico to clasp. The brown-eyed boy looked at him funny for a moment before clasping Percy's hand. “I swear that your secret is safe with me.”

A small exhale came from Nico before he began to pull up some grass. “While we all know common magic, each house specializes in different forms of magic.”

“So, like, what do you all do?”

Nico chuckled, shaking his head. He seemed happier than Percy usually saw him, which made Percy smile. The brown-eyed boy leaned back, stretching out his legs. “That's complicated. That's like suggesting that everyone in the house likes the same things to eat.” Nico shook his head again. “It would take far too long to detail everyone's individual talent as witches or warlocks.” He pressed a hand to his chest. “Take my family for example. My sisters and Hazel can communicate with spirits, as well as summon them. Bianca can physically touch spirit, while Hazel practices Vodun.”

Percy quirked a brow. “You mean voodoo?”

Nico gave him an odd look. “No. Well, not exactly. I wouldn't exactly call them the same thing, but I wouldn't say they aren't the same either. But to say that Hollywood has vastly exaggerated the practice is an understatement.” He nudged Percy's shoulder. “And, please, don't call it voodoo around Hazel or Beckendorf.”

“Beckendorf practices it as well?”

Nico scrunched his lips. “Yes and no. He dabbles in it, but Hazel is far more advanced at it than he is. But Beckendorf's mother was a Vodun priestess.” The boy's fingers were pulling up more strands of grass. “It's sort of why our families stuck around here, because we found other people with magic. However, if not for my family, they wouldn't have been so...welcoming.”

Percy frowned. This was a lot to take in. “I take it there's a story there?”

“Yep.”

“So, what about you?” Percy asked.

The boy did not seem so eager to answer that question. He cleared his throat and looked away from Percy. “You know, just regular stuff with death. Death magic, zombies, ghosts, that sort of thing.”

Percy tilted his head to the side. “The way you talked about your sisters, it sounded like they were different.”

Nico let out a sigh. When he looked at Percy, the green-eyed boy noticed a sad look in his brown orbs. “Like my father before me, and his father before him, I'm capable of raising and dismissing the dead. Like corpses—zombies, technically, if you want to call them that. I can also command a few more spirits than my sisters and Hazel,” Nico whispered.

Percy smiled at the way Nico looked embarrassed. “I think you're being modest.”

The boy inhaled. “It's not really anything to brag about, really. Not like Luke and his family, who can cast illusions. Or Jason's family, who can control the weather.” The boy blinked a few times, trying to look anywhere but at Percy.

The green-eyed boy decided to show mercy on the poor boy. “So, what about Will and Dakota? I don't think I've seen them at school.” Percy leaned back on his palms. “Do they live around here?”

“Uh, not always.” Nico shifted slightly away from Percy. “Dakota just graduated this past year, and now he's attending school in New Orleans.”

“Why does that seem to be the place where you all go for college?”

“Just is,” Nico mumbled. “New Orleans is a site for magic, heavy in death magic.” The boy looked down at his lap. “I hate going there, too loud, and I don't mean from the people actually living there.” The boy cleared his throat and finally looked up to meet Percy's gaze. “Anyways, those like Will and Jake just don't go to school around here.”

“Jake?”

“Ah.” Nico rubbed the back of his neck. “Leo and Beckendorf's brother. Jake's mother sort of found out about Leo's mother, and ended up taking Jake and moving. But, as you can probably guess by now, she only moved to the next town. We never go far from home.” Surely they weren't the only people out there with magic, were they? So why feel the need to stay around this town? “And Will's mother doesn't live that far away. Apollo offered to let them stay in his house, but I'm not sure if they are going to.”

Percy blinked twice. “So, like, does Will have the same problems at his school?”

Nico shook his head. “No, he's fairly popular.” He grinned. “It's just this town is full of assholes.”

Percy laughed at that. “Okay, so, what was that ritual, anyways?”

The other boy gave a small nod. “Right. That.” He scrunched his lips and furrowed his brow. “It's a special holiday for us. Not Halloween,” the boy said with a hint of irritation. “We call it Samhain. It was just a standard ritual to sanctify the coven. Well, the Firsts were doing it and the rest of the kids usually just watch. Our parents do a full ritual and all that in their own circle.” Nico grinned wickedly. “It wasn't something for revenge, if that's what you were thinking.”

“Looked...” Percy's brow furrowed as he attempted to think of the appropriate wording. “Evil? I don't think that's the right word.”

Thankfully, Nico smiled at him. Percy let out a breath. “Not at all. It was just to strengthen our bonds.”

It seemed like Percy was doing a good job of following, until he thought back to something Luke had said a while back. “Wait, I thought there were twelve families? It looked like you were short a member, excluding you.”

“Right,” Nico whispered. His fingers tightened in the grass, his knuckles turning white. “Apollo's sister, Artemis, is currently Head of House for the Nightshades. Traditionally, it is presided over by a female anyways, so it's not really a big deal. However, her husband...died shortly after Artemis was pregnant with their only child, Zoë.” Percy might not be the brightest crayon in the box, but even he could tell that Nico was bothered by something. “And, so, since Zoë is still pretty young, she can't stand in the circle with us.”

“Why not?”

Nico rubbed the back of his neck. “We are born with our magic, but it doesn't surface until we reach puberty, which Zoë hasn't reached yet. Until that time, you aren't able to stand in a circle without consequences to your physical well-being.” Nico finally seemed to relax, dropping his hands into his lap. “But it's not really a big deal, since we are only Firsts, and the actual Heads of House have their full circle.”

Percy frowned as he thought of something else. “Seems like there's a lot of death that happens in your families.”

Nico's shoulders slumped and his lips drew into a thin line. “You would be correct. It's a long story, one that I'd rather not get into right now, if that's okay?”

Percy gave a small nod. “Yeah, of course. I appreciate what you've already told me, and I don't want to push you into talking about something you don't want to.” He smiled and nudged Nico's shoulder. “Cheer up, you're cuter when you smile.”

Nico glared at him from behind his black bangs. “You're asking to get hit, Jackson.” He narrowed his eyes. “I just might let Dakota turn you into that dog, it would be an improvement.”

Green eyes snapped open wide. “That reminds me, what did Dakota mean by that?”

Nico clamped his mouth shut. “Nothing,” he whispered. “You really don't want to know.”

“I feel like I should worry,” Percy mumbled.

The other boy shot him a sad look. “It—He had it coming.” Nico fidgeted beside Percy. “He killed my mother, Percy,” Nico whispered.

Percy's brow furrowed. “Who did?” He leaned a little closer to the other boy, his blood already starting to boil.

“Khione's father,” Nico said, barely above a whisper. He took in a breath and straightened, wringing his hands. “My father...he put Khione's father, Boreas, into a trance one night, and made him come to our house.” The boy shuddered. “I still remember his screams. They were so loud that I could hear them from the basement, all the way up on the second floor.” Nico would not look at Percy. “I remember when I came downstairs, I saw Boreas writhing on the floor, screaming in pain.

“And then his bones started to snap and twist under his skin,” Nico continued. “The hair across his body thickened and spread, turning different colors. His ears grew until they drooped on either side of his tail. And with a final scream, the man's nose cracked until it came out from his face several inches.” Nico pursed his lips. “And where there was once a man, there was now a dog. The very same dog that you can find at Khione's house.”

Percy sat there, stunned, for a long period of time. He had seen that dog, and now he understood why Grover looked so sad by just looking at it. “The beagle?” Percy whispered.

There was a small nod from Nico, who still refused to look at Percy. “My father took him back home, cursing Boreas to forever remember who he was before, but unable to speak like a human anymore. After the transformation, my father told Boreas that it would be his eternal punishment for what he did: being so close to his family, but that he will never truly be able to be with them ever again.”

Percy did not know what to say. He had liked that dog, but now he was so conflicted. On one hand, he was upset that Nico's father would do something like that to a person that could not fight back to the same extent that Nico's father was capable of. But on the other hand, he now hated that dog for what he had once done to Nico's mother. Part of Percy's mind justified that the man deserved what he got in the end.

“Say something,” Nico whispered.

“Is there...anything else? What else have you done to the town?” Percy asked. When Nico cringed, Percy realized how that must have sounded. “I...I didn't mean it like that,” Percy quickly added.

Nico continued to look down at his lap, crossing his legs. “That's a pretty long list. Like I said, we don't just sit back and take it.” He let out a sigh. “Well, there was the cobbler.” He chanced a look at Percy. “You really shouldn't have eaten it.”

Percy felt sick. “What was in it?” He asked hesitantly.

The other boy bit down on his lip. “Ground up eyeballs,” Nico mumbled.

Percy's stomach did a flip. He felt like he might hurl. “Oh my god, Demeter has a very twisted sense of revenge.”

“It wasn't for you!” Nico began to flail his arms. “I tried to warn you!”

He did, Percy would admit that. The green-eyed boy let out a sigh, rubbing his stomach gently.

“It's sort of why everyone was having bad luck,” Nico added.

The taller of the two buried his face in his hands. “I really don't feel well,” he groaned.

Nico reached over and rubbed his back. “She felt really bad about it when she found out you ate some of it.” Nico pressed his lips together. “And I sort of slipped you some herbs in your lunch when you weren't looking, so that it would dull the curse that Demeter had put in the cobbler. That's why you didn't end up in the hospital.”

He had to sit there, rubbing his temples, for a moment. This was a lot to take in. He was beginning to sound repetitive, but he would like anyone else to do better in this situation. While he still was not scared of them, he was beginning to wonder if it was safe to eat anything around them ever again. And then Percy paled even more. Crap, he was supposed to be having dinner at Nico's house soon. He groaned.

“It's not like she's trying to poison you,” Nico said with a roll of his eyes.

Percy turned to retort to that comment, but a sharp pain shot through his head. The boy shut his eyes as the pain only increased. And when he opened his eyes, Percy found that they were in Salem. Well, they weren't, but it was what Percy was seeing.

It was dark, and it looked like most people had turned in for the night. But out from a lone barn came the girl that had been hanged. And not far behind her were Kronos and Tartarus. Kronos flicked his wrist and the girl spun around, hovering slightly in the air.

Kronos rested his hands on his knees in an attempt to catch his breath. His shirt was disheveled and his hair was wildly messy. “Circe, wait!”

The girl's foot finally came in contact with the ground again. She glared hatefully at Kronos, Tartarus refusing to look at her. “Thou hath broken an oath, Kronos!”

“Twas not like that!”

Circe sneered. “Spare me your lies. Thou are just like thy mother.”

Kronos glared and reeled his hand back, striking the girl across the cheek. Tartarus shot forward and took hold of the girl. “You didn't have to hit her!” He yelled.

The girl shoved the pale boy off of her. “Get away from me. Thou are not my brother!”

“Circe,” Tartarus pleaded. “Please, don't tell father.” Reaching into her hair, the girl pulled out a small needle and pricked her finger. She then took her pricked finger and smeared her other wrist with the blood. “I shall not let you make a fool of me like this,” she hissed.

Kronos reached her arm, but Circe jerked it away. Thunder boomed above them.

“I shall just have to grant thee thy wish then.” Circe's eyes turned black. “Blood unto blood, these two spirits are now mine,” she said slowly. A heavy gust swirled around them. “Soul tied to soul, do I eternally bind. Blood of your hearts, forever will be your doom.”

Kronos reached out for her again, but Circe spat in his face and ran off. As Kronos wiped at his face, thunder boomed again, the sky swirling with dark clouds. A bright flash of lightning caused Tartarus to flinch.

“Tartarus,” Kronos said softly, turning to face the other boy.

The brown-eyed boy rubbed at his arm. “She...she hath cursed us.” Kronos took a step closer. “She cursed us, Kronos! Do not act so calm.”

“I'm not,” Kronos said soothingly, slowly moving towards the other boy.

Tartarus slowly shook his head. “What hath she done?”

Kronos shot his arm out, but was only met with a cloud of smoke. The boy groaned and gripped his hair in frustration. “This isn't over,” the boy growled, his eyes flashing gold as he glared in the direction Circe had run.

“Percy!”

Percy jerked as he felt Nico's hands grab his shoulders and shook him. The boy let out a long breath, his forehead now covered in sweat. “What happened?” He whispered.

Nico shifted slightly. “You tell me. You zoned out for a good five minutes.”

As much as he had not wanted to sound like a loon, somehow Percy suspected that Nico would not have a problem believing what he was going to say. “Um, I don't know how to tell you this, but I think I have been dreaming about your ancestor.” Percy pointed a shaky finger over to a specific tombstone. “Tartarus. He moved here from Salem, didn't he?”

“How...how did you know that?” Nico shifted, placing his legs underneath him. “That's not possible.”

“He looked like you.”

Nico closed his mouth, pressing his lips into a thin line. “Okay, so maybe you have.” He took in a breath. “This doesn't make any sense,” the boy whispered. “It-it has to be a coincidence.”

“Well, I mean,” Percy began, “it all started happening after I moved here.” Nico gave a nod, urging Percy to continue. “And, I mean, it's not the only weird thing. I think my apartment is haunted, because stuff moves around and things shut on their own when I'm not looking sometimes. And then, the other night, this old woman jumped on me in my bed, and I swear she looked like a corpse.”

“So glad you're getting laid by an old lady,” Nico mumbled. Percy shot him a glare. Nico waved his hands. “Sorry, sorry.” He stood up and began to pace, tapping his finger to his lips. “This is very strange. If I didn't know any better, I'd think someone has decided to haunt you.”

“The old lady?”

Nico quickly shook his head. “No. To be there naturally, the spirit would have had to die there, and I can't recall anyone dying in your apartment complex.” The boy let out a sigh. “I think it's best if I take a closer look at your apartment.”

Percy had to smile at that. “How about dinner as well?”

“Not the time,” Nico mumbled. He gave the other boy a serious look. “Then maybe that would explain your dreams. Whoever put that spirit in your apartment could have put those dreams in your head.” Percy observed as the boy's eyes darkened. “And after I'm done looking at your apartment, and I find out it's true, I'm going to be having a very long conversation with Medea.”

Percy pulled his knees up to his chest. “You think she did this?”

“Seems like her thing to do. Torment the new kid in town.”

They end up sitting there until the sun started to come up. Percy smiled as the two of them sat there in silence, simply watching the sun's first light come over the horizon. After their discussion about the possible ghost in Percy's apartment, the two had moved on to different topics. But the only real thing that Percy had taken interest in was when he had asked Nico about there seeming to be some conflict between him and Apollo.

“It's a long story,” Nico had sighed. “Mitchell cheated on me with Apollo, but I disliked Apollo before that even happened.”

“What happened?” Percy had asked.

“Something I could never forgive,” was the only answer Percy had received.

Percy let out a long sigh, looking over at the brown-eyed boy. He was so beautiful, the way the light hit his dark features just right. But now that sun was up, Nico seemed less energetic, and not just from a lack of sleep. He just seemed...drained.

“Thanks for talking with me,” Percy said, smiling at the other boy.

“Yeah.” Nico tossed some grass to the side before looking back at Percy. “Thank you...for not freaking out and hating us.”

Just then, Nico became very tense. The boy shot to his feet and spun around several times, searching through the woods. Percy furrowed his brow, slowly climbing to his feet as well.

“Shit,” Nico cursed under his breath. Running a hand through his hair, Nico grabbed Percy and a darkness enveloped them.

Percy honestly did not know how to explain it. It was like his body just simply ceased to be for a split second before he and Nico appeared outside the gates of the cemetery. He did feel cold now, though, like all the heat in his body had been sucked out of him. And he felt...well, he felt like death.

Nico pushed against Percy's back. “You need to go,” the boy said urgently. Percy tried to argue, but Nico kept pushing. “I'll see you at school in a few hours, but you really need to go. Right now!”

Percy frowned. “Why? What's going on?”

“No time to explain,” Nico hissed.

And perhaps it wasn't the best of times, but Percy had an epiphany. He grinned. “So, is this why you lied about liking me?” He felt Nico tense up behind him.

Chancing a look, Percy found that Nico was blushing. “Wh-what are you talking about?” Nico stuttered. “I didn't-”

“I overheard you and Luke talking,” Percy chuckled. “And I think it's because you were afraid I would freak out that you were a wi—I mean, warlock.”

Nico blew at his bangs and pushed Percy harder, trying to get the boy to move as fast as he could. “Don't be stupid.”

Percy grinned again. “Well, you don't have anything to worry about. I accept you for what you are, and I really don't care.”

Nico slowed to a stop. Percy turned to find the boy staring down at his feet. “I-” Nico stopped when the two heard a loud bark and some rustling leaves. Nico shoved Percy again. “This isn't the time, Percy.”

That did not stop Percy from grinning like a fool. “Go out with me. Tonight?”

Nico bit down on his lip, a brief pause from his struggle to get Percy to leave. But with another bark, the boy tensed and pushed Percy again. “You need to go.”

“Go out with me,” Percy repeated, turning to face the other boy.

Nico's hands were not pressing against Percy's chest. “I-” Another bark. He looked up at Percy. “If I agree, will you leave right now?”

Percy's smile only widened. “Yes, I promise.” Nico gave him a nod and that was all the confirmation that he needed. Pumping his fist in the air, Percy let out a, “Yes!”

Nico just rolled his eyes and gave Percy a hard shove. “Now go.”

Still grinning, Percy jogged down a small hill and slipped behind a large tree to continue his journey through the woods. But then he heard a thundering roar getting closer and he ducked behind a tree. He peered around the trunk of the tree to catch sight of Nico slipping his hands into his pockets as he walked onto the road.

Percy's eyes widened as a large, familiar black dog jumped forth from the trunk of the tree closest to Nico. The boy did not seem to be startled at all as the dog bounded around him, barking loudly and wagging its tail. And it was then that Percy realized where he had seen it before.

It was the same dog that Percy had seen around the woods of Luke's house on his birthday. The dog was massive, coming up to Nico's waist with ease. And its paws looked like the size of fists. But the dog just crouched forward on its front legs and barked eagerly up at Nico.

“I was just out for a walk,” Nico sighed. The dog barked again. “Yeah, yeah. Come on, Cerberus.” The dog barked as the boy took off walking down the road. “I really don't want to go to school today.”

All seemed fine, until the dog came to a halt and turned its head to stare into the woods. Right in the direction of where Percy was crouched behind a tree. Though, whether the beast could see him or not, Percy had no idea. But the dog still growled, showing off its massive fangs.

Crouching down next to Cerberus, Nico scratched under its chin. “Come on, boy. How about I sneak you a nice juicy steak tonight after dinner?” The dog barked happily and bounded off down the road, completely forgetting about whatever it had been that might have given Percy away. Standing back to his feet, Nico glared in Percy's direction and pointed into the distance, letting Percy know that it was time for him to leave.

\---------------------------------

Percy groaned and he dragged his feet along the sidewalk. As he had not been able to get any more sleep, Percy honestly did not trust himself behind the wheel of his car. By the time he had gotten back to his place, he had barely had enough time to grab a shower and get ready for school. Percy was starting to feel a lightheaded, and he was not sure if he was going to be able to handle school today. And that wasn't even counting practice.

As he crossed the lawn of the school, Percy took notice of the flashing lights of an ambulance and some police cars. Frowning to himself, Percy mustered up the strength to jog over to where a crowd of students and faculty was forming.

A lot of the back lines were attempting to peer over the crowd, though Percy—even with his height advantage—was unable to see anything. But there was definitely something burning, he could smell it. And, unfortunately, he had smelled this before. Burning flesh.

It was at this time that Percy spotted Nico and the others standing a good distance away from the rest of the crowd. Percy slowly made his way over to them.

“Hey,” Percy greeted them. He motioned over his shoulder. “What happened?”

“Another pastor was murdered,” Annabeth whispered. She, along with most of the other kids, were being shepherded into a close circle by those that were probably more capable of fighting off a crowd.

Nico did not look like he was comfortable in such a close space, so Percy helped him squeeze out. Jason shot Percy a glare, but Luke did not seem to mind as much. The blond eyed Percy for a second before returning his attention to the rest of the students.

“Strung up on the flag pole,” Nico mumbled, brushing himself off.

Jason gave a grunt. “We should get everyone home.”

“But school,” Malcolm protested.

Luke let out a sigh. “I have to agree with Jason, I don't think it's best for us to be here right-”

“You monsters!” Came the first angry voice. Luke let out a sigh.

Percy turned towards the crowd, his eyes locking on to where the paramedics were carting away a body bag. Nico, however, did not seem very concerned with the angry mob that was starting to turn on them. The boy just blinked up at Percy and said, “You look like shit.”

Percy narrowed his eyes at the boy. “Thanks,” he mumbled.

Nico's attention was finally drawn when a rock came in contact with his cheek. The boy hissed and stumbled a few feet. Luke's eyes were like dagger, as the blond moved forward to try and fight whoever threw the rock, though Percy was not sure how Luke intended to pick anyone out from all the angry faces that were there.

Beckendorf, Thalia, Medea, and Clarisse joined Luke on the front lines. Out from her backpack, Clarisse pulled a pair of brass knuckles, which seemed to deter several of the kids in the front. Jason had crouched down where Nico had fell, his eyes a mixture of concern and fury. If Percy had not been paying attention, he might have missed it, but he could have sworn he saw an actual spark in Jason's eyes.

And then all of Jason's furious gaze was turned on Percy. He pointed a finger up at the green-eyed boy and said, “Jackson, you with me?”

Nico and Percy exchanged a look, where Nico shook his head with a warning look, but Percy wasn't about to listen either. Percy nodded at Jason and took off with the blond. Before Luke could catch the other blond, Jason had shot past and planted his fist into the face of the first person he could reach. And that was all the motivation everyone needed to break out into a full fight.

“Fuck yeah!” Clarisse yelled as she dove into the fray.

Percy had been right there beside them, and he quickly delivered quick punch to someone that he believed was on his baseball team. Too late to rethink things now, he told himself.

“Enough!”

The kids quickly froze at the sound of an angry Hestia. The woman stood there with a frustrated look on her face, her hair tied back into a tight knot. It did not matter which side each kid was on, they quickly backed away from each other and averted their gaze from the young woman as she stared at each of them with disappointment.

“You should all be ashamed of yourselves,” she said, shaking her head. “Someone died today, and we're all ready to jump to pointing fingers and violence. Neither of which is the answer.” She pointed in both directions, signaling that she wanted the sides to disperse. The kids quietly obeyed. “Expect that each of your parents will be notified by the time you get home today.”

The way the woman wielded guilt, they should stick her in the army or something, Percy thought.

With her lips pursed, she Hestia walked over to Nico and helped the boy to his feet. With a quick inspection of his cheek, the woman urged him to stand back. “Now then,” she continued, “I'm sure the police will get to the bottom of this, so there is no need to get violent.”

When a throat cleared, most of the student body turned their attention to where Chiron was standing near the flag pole. “In light of today's events, I am canceling school for today. If you need to call your parents, please move to the office to a call, or use your cellular devices that we all know you keep in your pockets. Either way, the police would like to ask that the area of the flag pole be cleared. I shall see you all bright and early Monday morning.” With that, he placed his hands behind his back and disappeared into the school building.

There was a lot of grumbling from everyone as the courtyard of the school was emptied. A lot of the kids moved towards the parking lot to take their car and head home. Some followed after where Chiron and most of the faculty went. But Percy, he followed after Luke and the others. Well, at least until Kinzie stopped him.

The girl did not look pleased. “Percy, how could you defend them like that back there?” She huffed and adjusted the strap of her backpack. “We all know they were behind it.”

“You don't,” Percy interjected.

The girl pursed her lips. “Khione told me something interesting last night. Is it true?”

Percy glanced after Luke and the others. While most had continued towards the parking lot, Luke, Annabeth, and Nico were waiting for him by the glass doors of the cafeteria. The green-eyed boy turned his attention back to Kinzie. “If she said I was bisexual, then yes, it's true.”

To put it lightly, Kinzie looked shocked. “Well, I mean, are you sure you're not just confused.” She placed a hand on Percy's arm. “Perhaps if you came and prayed about it.”

“Yeah, not really the praying type.”

“Percy, I just don't want you to end up going to hell.” She lowered her voice as she looked around them. “Being gay is a sin.”

Percy couldn't help it, he cracked a grin. “So I'm only half a sinner?”

The girl bristled. “This isn't a joke,” Kinzie hissed.

“I'm not joking.” Percy shrugged. “I'm sorry if you liked me, but I sort of like someone else.”

Perhaps Percy could have been a little gentler. He felt bad now, due to the sad look he could see in her eyes. “So Khione was right? You like the di Angelo boy?” She asked. Percy gave a small nod. “But he's...weird. Weirder than the rest of them. He talks to himself.”

That was right, Percy needed to ask about that rumor. “He seems fine to me.” Percy motioned over his shoulder. “They all do, once you get to know them.”

She placed her hand on his shoulder. “That's because they have you under their spell.” She looked so convinced of it, too. But Percy just arched a brow at her. “I'll be praying for you, Percy. If you change your mind, our doors at church are always open to you. I hope I can save you before it's too late.”

The green-eyed boy smiled at her. Even though she was being a little dumb, Percy appreciated at least that she cared about her friends. “Thank you, Kinzie. I'm fine, though, but I do appreciate the concern.”

The auburn-haired girl gave a small nod, chancing a small glance over Percy's shoulder to where Luke, Annabeth, and Nico stood. Percy turned and headed over to him, smiling at the annoyed look on Nico's face. He could only hope that was jealousy. Normally, Percy was not the type to like jealousy, but in this case he would make an exception. Because, if Nico was jealous, it meant he had a shot.

“So, do you guys know what happened?” Percy asked once he was close enough.

Annabeth shook her head. “Not a clue.”

Nico continued with his glaring. “What did she want?”

Percy grinned down at the boy. “Aw, don't worry, I'm all yours.”

That caused a stir in color from Nico's cheeks. Luke grinned and clapped Nico on the back. “Thanks for helping out back there,” the blond said, clasping hands with Percy.

Nico crossed his arms. “None of you should have gotten involved.” He punched Luke's shoulder. “You're supposed to listen, that's how it works.”

Percy quirked a brow. Luke shrugged back at him. “Nico doesn't like dealing out authority, so he has me and Annabeth do it for him.”

Nico flailed his arms. “Shut up! I'm not in charge.”

“Not yet,” Annabeth mumbled, grinning over at Luke. She held a hand out when Nico attempted to tackle her, holding the boy back by the forehead. “Our parents think someone has been trying to frame us.” She looked up at Luke with a ponderous look. “You think that might have been why they were so concerned with the graveyard a while back?”

“Probably.” Luke rubbed at his neck. “Either way, they have to be magical.”

“Why do you say that?” Percy asked, making sure to keep his voice down.

Luke motioned for them to walk. “Because, in the first attack, you could smell sulfur. Only people with magic can burn someone to such a degree.” The blond scrunched his lips. “And from what we got to see of the body, our parents said that it might have been something for a dark ritual.”

“I thought you guys weren't evil?”

Nico knocked away Luke's hand, who was trying to inspect Nico's cheek. “We're not, but that doesn't mean there aren't people out there with magic and the intention to use it for the wrong reasons.”

Annabeth nodded. “And we have a lot of people that don't like us.”

Luke cracked a grin at Percy. “Our families date back to the dark ages. You can build up quite a long list of enemies after such a long time.”

When they reached Luke's car, Jason and Piper were leaning against the door. The blond straightened and smiled at Percy, clapping him on the shoulder. “Nice work back there, man.”

Percy chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “Wasn't any trouble.” The blond's lips thinned. “Oh.” He glanced at Piper. “Um, so, Piper does know that you know.”

Nico narrowed his eyes. “I thought we were keeping it quiet?”

The blond chuckled nervously. “So, um, Silena did a better job of keeping it quiet, but she still knew something was up. She sort of attacked me this morning.”

Piper waved them off casually. “It's not a big deal.” She smiled over at Percy before enveloping him in a hug. “You're already cool with me, Percy, so I won't be ratting you out.”

Nico flailed his arms about. “Can we please not tell anyone else? The fewer people that know, the better.” The boy shook his head. “It's already dangerous enough with Apollo knowing.”

Piper pursed her lips at the boy. “Thanks for the trust.”

Nico glared back at the girl. Luke sighed and stepped in between the two before they could go at it. He shook his he at Percy with a smile. Annabeth shoved Nico's face, pushing the boy back so that she could talk to Jason and Piper. “We were just talking about the attacks, and how our parents suspect foul play.”

“Or it could be the curse,” Piper mumbled.

That drew Percy's attention. “Curse? What curse?”

“Nothing.” Annabeth shot Piper a look. “Piper's just being silly.” She sighed and rubbed her neck. “I did not get enough sleep to deal with this morning.”

Luke nodded. “I think we should all go home and get some sleep.”

Before Nico could move to get into Luke's car, Nico caught his arm. “Um, so, do you still want to come over tonight?” He asked. Nico chewed on his lip. “I mean, you know, to check my apartment.”

Jason glared, but Annabeth cleared her throat and the blond grumbled to himself. Nico narrowed his eyes playfully. “Uh-huh. Nice save.” He sighed and rubbed his face. “Well, I definitely need some sleep, and I think it's a bad idea for me to be in the town for dinner, if you were wanting to do that.”

Percy shook his head. “No, we can eat at my place, since you were wanting to have a look at it.”

Nico shifted his weight. All eyes were on the two raven-haired boys. Nico opened his mouth to give an answer, but received a small nudge from Luke. The blond looked innocently away when Nico turned to glare at him. Nico let out a sigh. “Fine, I'll be over around seven.” He glared at Luke again. “Happy?”

“Very much,” Luke replied with a grin.

Piper shoved a grumpy looking Jason towards a car parked beside Luke. The blond pulled out a set of keys and mumbled something to Nico, who just rolled his eyes and shoved the blond's face away. Annabeth slid into the passenger seat of Luke's car.

But Luke stopped Percy before he could walk off. Looking to make sure the others weren't listening, Luke leaned in. “Thank you, for being patient with him. He's...had a rough past when it comes to guys. Mitchell cheated on him, and Jason...well, we'll talk about him later.” The blond grinned and rubbed Percy's shoulders. “But I've been rooting for you, even though you thought I was competition.” Luke grinned again when Percy blushed. “Yeah, Nico told me. But, I'll have you know, I was pushing for you since day one.”

“Thanks,” Percy mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

Luke gave a nod and pulled his car key from the set of keys that were in his hand. “If you have any problems, come to me. I know Nico like the back of my hand, and I'll be glad to help you out if he's giving you trouble.” He gave serious look when Percy chuckled. “I'm serious, you're going to be coming to me. A lot.”

Percy nodded his head. “I'll keep that in mind.” He let out a yawn. “I think I could use some sleep as well.”

Luke stuck his tongue out with a grin. “Yeah, I suppose so, since Nico kept you up all night.”

Percy blushed as Luke climbed into his car, instantly being bombarded by Nico with questions, if Percy had to guess. The green-eyed boy let out a groan and turned around, heading in the direction of his apartment. He just wanted to collapse and sleep the day away, but he knew that he'd have to get up at some point to clean and cook something up. Percy was going to give Nico a taste of oriental cooking.

\-------------------------------

Nico ended up coming over half an hour early. When he arrived, Percy poked his head outside the door and spotted a black sports car next to where his car was parked. “What, you didn't just teleport here?”

The other boy cracked a smile as he stepped back outside and shut the door. “Better?” The boy asked. Percy jumped, as the voice had come from behind him. There stood Nico, grinning at him from the couch. “It's easier when it's not very far. But, if I had done it from my house, I'd been a poor guest, as I'd probably be wanting to take a nap.”

Percy rolled his eyes and moved back into the kitchen, where he was already working on dinner. “You did it pretty easily last night.”

“That's because the area around our houses seeps with magical energy, makes it pretty easy for us to cast spells.” The boy hopped up and slipped into the kitchen, peering over Percy's shoulder. “You're not going to burn the apartment down, are you?”

The green-eyed boy shot the other a dark look. “I'll have you know I'm good at cooking oriental food.”

“Not really what you hear from an oriental boy,” Nico chuckled.

“My aunt taught me,” Percy pouted.

Nico smiled. “Doesn't change the fact that you are white.”

“Says the pale kid.”

Nico held up his hands. “Got me there. Still, it's not like I've never eaten Chinese or Japanese. Frank and his grandmother cook it on occasion.”

Percy chanced a glance at the other boy, who was poking around his kitchen. “What about Frank's mother?”

“Died in the war.” Nico opened Percy's fridge and peered inside. Not very polite, in Percy's opinion. “But Ares hasn't remarried yet. However, he's nice enough to let Frank's grandmother stay in the house with them.”

“That's nice of him,” Percy said, stirring the rice in the frying pan.

“You'd be really impressed if you knew Ares.”

Percy peered over his shoulder as Nico disappeared from the kitchen area, slipping down the hall towards Percy's bedroom. The boy quirked a brow but let the boy do his thing. Not like he could be of much assistance in hunting for a ghost. “Can I get you something to drink?” Percy called out to the other boy. When no reply came, Percy got curious. Sitting down his spatula, Percy headed down to his bedroom.

He found Nico standing in front of his bed with his back to Percy. The green-eyed boy tilted his head to the side, reaching out to place a hand on Nico's shoulder. The boy spun around, nearly startling Percy. Nico's eyes were like the void, pure black that seemed to suck all light inside. Percy found it very hard to look away, until Nico blinked his eyes and they returned to their normal brown color.

“Sorry,” Nico mumbled, rubbing his eyes. “Just trying to find your spirit. It's definitely here, just not wanting to listen.” He tapped a finger against his lips. “Strange.”

“Oh.” Percy stepped aside as Nico walked down the hall to his bathroom. “That reminds me, what's up with this rumor that you talk to yourself?”

“Well,” Nico replied, yanking back the shower curtain, “it's because sometimes ghosts wander around at school. And, our coven, normal people can't see them.”

“Wait.” Percy held his hands up in a timeout motion. “Everyone in the coven can see ghosts?”

“Um.” Nico pressed his lips together, like he was trying to gather the right words. “Yes, but only in the broad sense. They can see ghosts, through training, but they can't command them. Every family has their own unique magic, yes, but we also share the broadest aspects of those magics with the other families. Like, for example, I can make it rain, but Jason can summon tornadoes.”

Percy gave a nod of understanding. “So how did I see the old lady?”

“Ah, well, there is always the exception to the rule.” Nico stood up from checking under the sink. “If you are being haunted, the ghost can then manifest itself enough to give the person it is haunting a scare.” The boy pushed past Percy. “But never for very long.”

Percy nodded again before leaving Nico to his work and headed back to check on their food. While chopping up some vegetables to toss in with the rice, he heard a loud thud. Putting down his knife, Percy went back to his bedroom.

“Um, what was-”

His bed had collapsed onto the floor. Nico just stood there, his hands on his hips. “The ghost is not happy that I'm here,” Nico replied casually. Without even looking away from the bed, Nico tossed his hand out in the air and Percy caught sight of faint wisps.

Where there was once nothing, a neck soon formed and slowly a body came into being, Nico holding it in place in the air. Percy paled as he soon recognized the horrid face of the old woman that had nearly given him a heart attack the other night. She struggled, like Nico's fingers burned her throat. And apparently they did, as smoke soon began to come off of the places where Nico's fingers touched her neck.

With a toss, Nico flung the ghost against the back wall, where she surprisingly made contact with it. Nico's eyes were dull as he watched the ghost scratch at the wall. “You're not going anywhere,” he said darkly. “I forbid you from dissipating until I get some answers.” Nico crossed his arms and sat down on Percy's bed. “Now then, tell me who summoned you here.”

A very creepy, scratchy laugh emitted from the old woman's throat. She slowly turned to face the two boys, a small worm attempting to embed itself in the woman's cheek. Percy pointed to his own cheek. “You've got a little something, right here.”

The woman hissed at him, her teeth horrid and rotten. But when she went to attack Percy, Nico flung his arm and sent her crashing back into the wall. However, the woman just threw her head back and laughed in Nico's face. “You have no power over me, little boy.”

Nico's eyes turned black again and he shot up, extending his hand. The image of the woman began to flicker and turn smokey. She hissed at him, but was unable to move away from the wall. “Tell me!” Nico demanded.

“No!” She wailed, scratching at her face.

Nico locked his jaw and his palm flattened. He began chanting, though Percy was unable to decipher what it was. Either way, a dark aura appeared around Nico, and from every shadow of the room came snake-like tendrils with skulls for heads. Each impaled the ghost and wrapped around her, their ends sinking into the floor. Slowly, the ghost began to sink down.

The old woman clawed at the walls as the a circle opened up in Percy's floor. The boy's green eyes widened, and he had to wonder what the people below him might see, if anything at all. But ghostly and skeletal hands reached out of the circle and grabbed on to the woman's ankles, pulling her down to them.

“Then I banish you,” Nico hissed out. “Be gone from this world and never return. Your soul be damned for all eternity.”

“No!” The woman screamed, gnashing her rotten teeth at them before she was ripped down into Percy's floor, the floor shutting closed as soon as she was gone. Nico sighed and fell back onto Percy's bed, pressing a hand to his head.

The green-eyed boy sat down beside him. “You okay?”

Nico gave a small nod. “Yeah, I just hate having to do that, takes a lot out of me.”

He gulped and looked at the floor. “You can't...do that to living people, can you?”

The boy rubbed his eyes. “Sure, if I wanted to end up in a coma for nearly a week. Magic isn't just snap your fingers and make something happen, Percy, there are consequences. However, this was a different matter. My family possesses dominion over the dead, so I suffer nothing by what I did.”

“Right,” Percy whispered. “Well, I need to check on the food, but are you going to be okay?”

Nico massaged the bridge of his nose, holding out his other hand. Percy helped him up. “I'll be fine, I just need to eat something. Maybe have something to drink.”

Percy grinned. “I can help with that.”

Nico followed after Percy, sitting on the green-eyed boy's couch while he let Percy finish cooking. Percy let out a chuckle when he heard Nico's stomach growl. After a moment, Percy glanced over at the boy and found Nico laying down with his arm over his eyes. He smiled at that. The other boy was so adorable, even after being extremely terrifying. But Percy, regardless of what his instincts tried to tell him, felt completely safe around Nico. The brown-eyed boy did not seem to want to hurt him, so why should he fear Nico?

He quirked a brow when Nico let out a groan. “It doesn't make any sense! I'm supposed to have dominion over the dead.” Nico shot up and frowned at a random spot in the carpet. “How was she able to refuse my demand?”

“Maybe she was stronger?” Percy offered.

Nico gave him a look that made him feel stupid. “Don't be ridiculous, Percy. She was once alive, which means there's no way she could refuse me.”

The green-eyed boy quirked a brow at Nico, his own stomach letting out a growl. “What does that even mean?”

Nico let out a sigh and collapsed back onto his back. “There are two types of spirits: those that were once amongst the living, and those that just always were.” Nico scrunched his lips. “Those that always were are sometimes hard to control and can be unpredictable. It's where people got the concepts for angels and demons.” Percy nodded. “With a lot of them, I do command authority over them, save for the most powerful of those spirits, which my father is capable of controlling.” The boy let out a long breath. “But there is none that were amongst the living that should be able to refuse anyone in my family. They are the most basic of spirits.” He shook his head. “I need to do some research on this, something isn't right.”

Percy smiled and turned off the stove. “Well, how about we not think about that right now. You seem a little upset over it, plus you are hungry, so why don't we eat and watch some movies.”

Nico sighed, but nodded his head and got up. He took a plate from Percy and helped himself to the food that Percy had prepared. Percy smiled, standing behind the boy. Due to the small kitchen, there wasn't much room to stand around, but it did have its perks. Like allowing him to be so close to Nico, close enough to simply wrap his arms around Nico's waist if he wanted.

In fact, he could practically see it, though Nico wore a loose cotton shirt that nearly hung off his shoulder. Percy shook his head, finding Nico standing there with his back to Percy in his usual dark attire. That had been odd, Percy thought.

The movies had been a good distraction for Nico, though perhaps not the best choices by Percy. Two in particular, which had both included witches. Nico just placed his legs underneath him and sat up to tell Percy everything that was wrong with the movies.

“Okay, first of all, their depictions of witches is offensive,” the boy began. Percy grinned and sat back to listen. “First of all, I've never seen a single witch with any kind of wart. I mean, we have magic, so we can kind of fix things like that. Second, we can't fly, even on broomsticks.”

“It's just a movie,” Percy chuckled. “I didn't get to watch any horror movies last night.”

Nico huffed and crossed his arms. “We don't even wear pointy hats.”

Percy grinned, slipping his arm behind Nico's back, which seemed to go unnoticed by the irritated boy. “I'm sure you don't.”

Percy eventually had to change the movie, because Nico eventually refused to watch it.

He shook his head with a chuckle, leaning forward to change DVDs. “It's just a movie, learn to laugh at yourself a little.”

Nico pointed to the TV. “I don't mind movies about witches, when they don't depict us to be such bad people. And ugly, to top it all off.” He motioned to himself. “I mean, do I look like that? I know I'm probably not the best looking-”

“I think you're cute,” Percy replied, sitting back down on the couch to start the next movie. Nico blushed a little. Percy smiled and rested a hand on Nico's knee and rubbed his thumb against the pale skin there. “Just enjoy the movies for what they are.”

Nico's eyes watched Percy's hand, but thankfully did not remove it. He sighed and sat back, also thankfully close to Percy. The green-eyed boy grinned in the darkness as he leaned his shoulder against Nico's. Inside his head, Percy was still trying to process everything he had learned since last night, but he knew one thing for sure. He still liked Nico. To him, Nico was the same kid that he had known since his arrival in this town. A little rough around the edges perhaps, but still a nice guy.

But the one thing he could not understand was how he felt drawn to Nico.

Even now, with them sitting so close, Percy wanted nothing more than to reach out and pull Nico closer to him, until they were laying down on the couch with Nico resting his head on Percy's chest and their legs intertwined. But Percy just licked his lips and tried to focus on the movie.

Which proved to be harder than it should have been.

Everything Nico did, Percy found himself hyper-aware of. A simple stretch, a yawn, or even the shift of the boy's legs, each movement drew Percy's attention to the smaller boy. Once or twice, Nico caught him and gave him a quizzical look. Percy just smiled and went back to watching the movie.

And before Percy knew it, Nico was getting up to leave. With a quick glance at his phone, Percy found that it was already after eleven. He cursed under his breath and got up to walk Nico to the door. Nico stopped at the door and turned to face Percy, a small smile touching at his lips.

“I did have a nice time tonight, those offensive movies aside,” Nico said.

Percy leaned against the door. “Well, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself then.”

Nico nodded. “And, hopefully, that should put an end to your ghost problems.” He pressed his palm to Percy's head. “Though, I'm uncertain about those dreams. Let me know if they continue. If they do, I'll see about getting Katie to brew you up something to help you sleep.”

The green-eyed boy chuckled. “Thanks.”

Nico pursed his lips, letting his hand drop from Percy's head. “But, I'm not sure if we should continue with...this.”

Percy was no longer smiling, at a loss for words. He felt hurt, like a knife was stabbing him in the heart. Percy pressed his hand to the door when Nico moved to open it. “I'm not scared of you, if that's what you're afraid of,” Percy quickly reasoned.

“I-”

“And I'm not scared of you hurting me.” Reaching out with his other hand, Percy grabbed Nico's hand and squeezed it. “I really like you, Nico, and I don't care if you're a warlock or just some normal weird kid.”

Nico was glaring at him now. “I can control my powers, thank you very much.”

Percy fumbled as Nico ripped his hand away. “Wait,” he called out to Nico when the boy yanked the door open. “I didn't mean it like that, Nico. Please, wait.”

Nico huffed and stopped at the stairs, turning to face Percy. “What do you want, Percy?”

Percy stepped outside and rested a hand on the railing. “Just one chance, if you'll give me that.” He moved closer to the other boy. “I'll openly admit that I found myself feeling happy when I found out you were single, which surprised me after seeing you and Jason kiss.”

Nico looked down at the concrete. “I was afraid that you saw that,” he mumbled. Brown eyes stared up at him with a sad look in them. “Jason and I...we have a history. We're just complicated.” The boy pursed his lips. “And I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention it to anyone besides Luke, as he's the only one in the coven that knows. If anyone found out, Jason could get in a lot of trouble.”

“Sexuality matters to you guys?”

Nico shook his head. “It's more complicated than that, Percy. But that's not to say that his father his father is the most understanding man out there.” He looked down at his feet. “Just don't say anything, please?”

Percy nodded and Nico let out a breath. “But, I mean, were you telling the truth earlier? About being single, I mean?”

Nico was the one to nod this time. “I am,” he whispered. “And, yes, I do like you, Percy. I don't know why—well, I do, but I can't really explain it either.” Nico let out a sigh. “Just...there's nothing going on with me and Jason, or at least I'm trying to get him to see it that way. I've told him on several occasions that I'm not going to be with him.”

It sure looked that way the night Percy had to be bailed out of jail, Percy thought bitterly. “Why not?”

“Well, for one, Jason's dating my sister.” Nico looked up at Percy from behind his bangs. “And I'm sorry about the way he has been acting around you, that's probably my fault.” Percy just scrunched his lips. “I'm sorry.”

Percy reached out and grabbed Nico before he could leave. “Wait.” Nico quirked a brow at him. “Can I...” Percy kicked at the ground. “Can I at least see you tomorrow? I'd really like a chance.”

Nico was looking down at where Percy was holding his wrist. After a moment of silence, Percy let go and rubbed the back of his neck. Nico stared out into the distance. “I—this really is not a good idea, Percy.” That stung. But, much to Percy's surprise, Nico gave a nod. “But okay.” With a small smile up at Percy, Nico began walking down the stairs.

Percy grinned and fought the urge to pump his fist into the air. Instead, he did a little dance until Nico turned around to give him a weird look. Percy just grinned and waved back. “I'll call you tomorrow,” the green-eyed boy called out.

Nico chuckled as he unlocked his car. “Good night, Percy.”

Percy finally held his hands up in the air in triumph once he was inside of his apartment. He could not stop grinning, and it was starting to hurt his face. Tonight was awesome. He just needed to play his cards right and show Nico that he wasn't going to hurt him.

Still smiling, Percy pulled out his laptop and opened up a new tab before going to Google. He blew his lips and tapped his fingers lightly on the keyboard, unsure of what to type in. He knew what he wanted to look up, but Percy also knew how broad the search would be.

Regardless, Percy typed out five words, mumbling them as he typed it out. “Real witches and their coven.”


	11. Mortal See, Mortal Do

It rained most of the day Saturday. On top of that, Nico was running late. But that only gave Percy more time to sit with his laptop and browse everything witchcraft related online. Most of it was useless, given what Nico had told him, unless Nico had lied. It was possible, but he wanted to believe Nico was being sincere with him.

That being said, most what Percy found was exactly what Nico disliked. The majority of it called witches the servants of the devil, or had made some contract with him. There was a lot on Salem, but he did not trust any of that. From those dreams he kept having, it did not seem like the knowledge of history was as accurate as people wanted to believe. But there was one potential article that Percy ended up stumbling across.

There was a coven, one that practiced only an hour away from Aimes. For the past five minutes, Percy had just sat there and stared at a number that was on the website. He had never really understood what Nico had meant by “practicing” and “magical” witches. Well, there was the obvious answer for the magical side, but how was that any different than practicing?

Picking up his phone, Percy decided to take a chance.

There were a few missed calls and a single text message. The text was from Nico, letting the green-eyed boy know that he was finally on his way. He had yet to tell Percy what was holding him up. Two of the calls were from his aunt, which he'd have to call back at some point or she'd probably end up calling the army to check on him. And the rest were from Alabaster, who was, judging by the voice mail that was left on Percy's phone, sad that he hadn't heard from Percy in a few weeks. Which was true, Percy had not spoken to his ex all month, but Percy had just been busy.

In truth, Percy had not been able to think much about Alabaster, especially not these past two days.

Percy needed to ask Nico about that. To Percy, it seemed like a lot of the kids in the families clouded Percy's mind when he spoke to them. Or with Nico, possibly because of the dreams, Percy ended up thinking about him a lot. Now that he knew they were magic, the pull that he felt towards Nico made him all the more curious.

Clearing his head of that for the moment, Percy raised the phone to his ear after dialing the number he had found from the website. It took a few rings, and Percy was beginning to feel like no one was going to answer, but eventually the phone was picked up.

“Hello?” Came a woman's voice.

“Um, yes.” Percy tilted back the screen on his laptop to look at the website again. “I stumbled across your website, and I saw that you had a coven not far from where I am. And, well, I am sort of, um, doing a...” Percy thought for a moment, his eyes darting off to the side. “A study...on witchcraft and Wicca. And, well, I was wondering if you'd mind if I came and observed. I'm very curious to learn more about the subject.”

“Oh,” came the woman's cheerful voice. “Well, I must say, we don't get a request like that everyday. But, my son, I can assure you that we try not to turn anyone away that seeks the path of enlightenment.” She cleared her throat and Percy heard some papers being shuffled around. “In fact, we were planning on meeting tonight.”

“In the rain?” Percy frowned and looked out his window. It was still pouring down.

The woman gave a chuckle. “Oh, that won't stop us. Rain is part of nature, and we are one with the elements.”

“Okay,” Percy said hesitantly. He was considering bringing an umbrella. He let out a sigh, slapping a hand over his face. He had not packed one. “Okay, I'll be there. What time?”

“Well, we usually meet around seven or eight, but one of our members is returning from a trip and will be a little a late.” She paused for a moment, and Percy could hear her nails tapping against a wooden surface. “Let's make it night.”

“Sounds good.” Percy let out a breath. “I'll see you then.”

Hanging up the phone, Percy groaned. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell Nico about this little plan of his just yet. To be honest, Percy just wanted to try and learn without burdening Nico and the others with so many questions. This did not seem like an easy topic that any of them could have over coffee or a meal. They might not even be able to cover it all in a day or week.

Percy let out a curse. Where was he going to get an umbrella? There were a few stores around the downtown area that he could check out, but he had yet to see any shopping centers. Pulling his feet up onto the couch, Percy leans back with his computer in his lap. Turning some music on, Percy leans his head back and closes his eyes.

It was not long before there was a knock at the door. Percy groaned, not wanting to get up, but knowing he had to. Setting his computer aside, Percy strolled over to the door and unlocked it, pulling it open to find Nico standing there. Like last night, a black sports car was parked next to Percy's car. More than likely, it belonged to Nico. And if that were true, Percy wanted to ask if he could drive it. Unfortunately, Nico spoke first.

“Put a shirt on.”

Percy glanced down at his torso with a frown. “Hello to you, too.” He sighed and closed the door once Nico was inside. “Be glad I didn't just wake up, I might have been naked,” he said with a cheeky grin.

Nico arched a brow at him, his eyes roaming across Percy's exposed flesh. “You sleep naked?” The boy asked curiously.

Heading back to his room, Percy retrieved a shirt and slipped it on. “No,” Percy chuckled, “but I do sleep in my underwear.” Nico gave a nod. “So, what was the problem.”

“Oh.” Nico let out a sigh before removing his shoes and moving to sit down on Percy's couch. “Um, it was nothing, just another disturbance at the cemetery.” The boy leaned back, running his hand through his hair. “Just someone trying to break into the crypt.”

Percy nodded and closed his laptop before putting it aside and sitting down next to Nico. Casually, he placed his arm on the back of the couch, right behind Nico. The other boy did notice, narrowing his eyes at Percy, but did not move. “Some kids trying to vandalize the place? What's even in that old thing?”

The brown-eyed boy shook his head. “Nothing important.” The two stared at each other. Perhaps Percy was over-analyzing things, but he wasn't so sure Nico was being honest with him. “Just some old books, and things like that. Nothing that would be of value to anyone else in this town.”

Okay that was the truth. Percy smiled and nodded. “Um, so, I have a question?”

“Shoot.”

“Where would one purchase things not food related.” Percy rubbed the back of his neck. “Like, what if I wanted to buy a movie, a video game, or clothes? Ah, I mean besides the locally owned clothing stores.”

Nico snorted. “Good luck with clothing. You'll have to make a trip out of town for something like American Eagle.” Nico let out a sigh. “We do have a Wal-Mart, but it's not a Supercenter, and it's not open all day.”

“Wait, hold on.” Percy held his hands up in the universal timeout motion. “There's a Wal-Mart here? Why have I never seen it before?”

Nico bit back a smile. “Not surprised.” He sighed and slid away from Percy, putting his back to the arm of the couch. “First thing you need to know about this town: Everything is on one side of town, except Wal-Mart. Seriously, everything is on this side of town, with the exception of Wal-Mart.” He chuckled at the odd look on Percy's face. “Strange, I know, but there was nowhere to build it except right outside of town. Athena had the place contracted, which, oddly enough, was not objected to by the town.”

“Athena?”

“Annabeth's mother,” Nico mumbled. He pulled his knees up to his chest. “She's a brilliant woman, but she can talk your ear off about anything science or architect related.”

Percy's brow furrowed. “I'm not sure what I find harder to believe: the fact that you guys can do magic, or that there is a Wal-Mart here that I had no idea existed.”

“Okay,” Nico began, motioning with his hands. “It's not that big of a deal. Like, if you're not going to Wal-Mart, you wouldn't go to that side of town. I'm not surprised you didn't know about it.”

“But it's such a small town,” Percy groaned.

“More spread out than anything else.” Nico gave a casual shrug. “Not as compact as a city, like you are used to. Everything is spread out, save for the area downtown.” He stuck his tongue out at the irritated look on Percy's face. “Suck it up, pretty boy.”

That put a smile on Percy's face. “You want to go with me?”

And that put a frown on Nico's face. The boy pursed his lips and brushed his bangs out of his eyes. “I don't think that's a good idea, not after they found that pastor murdered. Everyone is trying to keep a low profile right now, at least until Monday.”

Percy inched closer. “You could keep a low profile over here.”

“I am here,” Nico mumbled.

“I mean tomorrow.”

Nico narrowed his eyes. “We'll see how your cards play out today, then we'll talk.” Percy smiled and moved closer, but Nico slipped away before he could get too close. Clearing his throat, Nico stood a few feet away from the couch. “So, I can just wait here until you come back.”

“Or,” Percy began, standing to his feet, “you could come with me. I don't even know where the place is.” Nico opened his mouth, and Percy already knew that he was going to suggest giving Percy directions. But before he could, Percy grabbed his keys and grabbed Nico's wrist. “Come on, grumpy.”

Nico grumbled as he struggled against Percy. “I don't even have my shoes!”

Percy rolled his eyes and let go, bending over to put his own shoes on. “Come on, it won't be that bad. I could use the company.”

The other boy pressed his lips together, crossing his arms over his chest. Percy smiled again and Nico looked away, glaring at a spot on the wall. Percy grinned wider, knowing he was wearing the boy down. For overkill, Percy stuck his bottom lip out in a pout.

“Fine!” Nico sighed in defeat, throwing up his arms. “Just make it quick.”

They ended up taking Nico's car, which Percy definitely did no object to. The only sad part was when Nico glared at him for even asking to drive. But it was such a beautiful car! The rain was still coming down fairly rough, though. When they had left his apartment, Percy wondered how they were going to stay dry long enough to get dry, but Nico had told him not to worry.

Strolling out casually, Nico strolled down the stairs with his hands in his pockets. And, to Percy's amazement, he stayed completely dry. Slowly, Percy followed after him. The rain hit him, but it was like it simply bounced off of his clothes and hair. He blinked, holding out a hand. The rain hit his palm and slid off the side, falling down the pavement.

“Wow,” Percy breathed out once they were on the road. “I thought you couldn't control the weather?”

“Um.” Nico frowned, not taking his eyes off the road. “I can't to the extent of those in Jason's family, but I can make it rain in particular areas and manage to stay dry during rainy weather.”

“Condensed areas?”

Nico grinned. “Want me to show you?”

Percy's eyes widened and he shook his head. “Nope, I think I'm good.”

The other boy chuckled. “Good. Basically, I can make it rain in a targeted area, probably no bigger than the size of my house. Like, it would rain on my house, but nowhere around it.”

“That's so cool,” Percy whispered.

“Eh, you get used to it. Or, in some cases, wish you didn't have them.”

“Why would anyone wish that?”

Nico let out a sigh. “It's never a choice, and some people can feel trapped by it. Almost like a curse.” His dark eyes cut over to where Percy sat. “Some have killed themselves, rather than live with their magic.” Percy frowned at that. “It's complicated, and involves a lot more than I'm willing to talk about right now. Our families are very old, and...well, let's just say that not everyone out there likes our families.”

“You mean besides the town?” Percy quirked a brow.

“Yes. I mean people that have magic.” Nico took a sharp turn, running a light as it was about to turn red. “Some don't like it because we might just be some of the most powerful families amongst witches and warlocks.” Nico pursed his lips. “Some people didn't like their children marrying into our families, and some...didn't like what we did to them years back.” The boy cringed and then shivered. “And, well, we're cursed.”

That didn't really make sense. “Um, but I thought you said you guys were powerful?”

“We...are.” Nico chewed on his lip. “I...don't think we should talk about this. There was an issue, a very long time ago...between two people in my family. It's a very sore subject.”

Nico didn't have to tell him, Percy believed he already knew what Nico was talking about. Circe and Tartarus. But that didn't explain what happened. Those parts of the dreams were still confusing to him, but Percy didn't have a dream last night. He was partially wondering if getting rid of the ghost actually did get rid of his dreams as well.

“There are other families out there with magic,” Nico continued. “Here in North America, back in Europe. Asia, Africa, everywhere on Earth that has a population of people has witches and warlocks inhabiting it. Sure there are towns and probably even cities around the world that don't, though, because we aren't as...large a number as mortals.” Nico made another turn, this one taking them to the edge of town. “But our families here like to keep the bloodlines pure with magical blood.”

“What, like not having sex with a 'mortal'?”

Nico smirked. “No, sex is fine.” Percy did not like the way Nico had said that. Had Nico had sex with someone before? “What I mean is that we do not mate with mortals. It's nothing against them, but our families like to keep magic in our families.”

“So...if a kid was born of a witch, or wizard in a guy's case, and a mortal?”

Nico sped up since there wasn't really any traffic ahead of them. “That's fine.” The boy shrugged. “That sort of goes into genetics. A halfbreed has a chance of being mortal or being born with magic, but if they do inherit magic, they will only pass on their genetic marker that contains magic.”

Percy's head began to hurt again. He had the feeling this was going to become a common thing whenever he talked to Nico about magic. “Wait, so you're like an X-men?”

The other boy quirked a brow. “Are you asking me if we're mutants?” Nico asked. Percy gave a nod. “No. Look, I don't know how to really explain this.” Nico slowed down, taking one of his hands off the wheel to use as he spoke. “It's not something you can identify by looking at someone's genes. A scientist wouldn't be able to find it. It's invisible, for all intents and purposes. It's just something you are born with, something untraceable. No one knows where magic even came from. We just know that it isn't evil. Magic is what the wielder makes it to be.”

The green-eyed boy was now rubbing his head. “So, let me get this straight. If a male mortal and a female witch-”

“Only females can be witches,” Nico mumbled.

Percy let out a groan, massaging his head further. “But, like, if the two of them have a child, and that child contains magic. And then if that child has a child with a witch or warlock, the child is...guaranteed to have magic?”

Nico gave a slow nod, with a slow and drawn out, “Yes.”

Percy let out another groan, letting his head fall back against the car seat. Nico parked the car and turned it off, turning to Percy with a sigh. Arching a brow, Nico motioned to the store to his left.

It wasn't really that big, much smaller than most that Percy was used to seeing. They highway that they took to get here from town was to Percy's right, and there wasn't much else surrounding the area. The parking lot was bigger than the grocery store that Percy was used to going to, but not by much. There were a few cars parked around them, but the rain seemed to be keeping most people indoors.

Perhaps that was a good thing. Then Nico wouldn't have to be as uncomfortable.

Percy slowly opened his door. Nico just sat there. “So,” Percy began, “I don't suppose we get to stay dry this time, do we?”

Nico shook his head. “I, um-” He finally looked over at Percy. “Sorry, no. But I can dry us off when we get back in the car, if that helps.”

The green-eyed boy smiled. “Come on, it won't be that bad.”

Nico let out a sigh, but followed Percy as the older boy jogged towards the store. Once inside, the two were met by the cold air conditioning that most Wal-Marts had. His teeth chattering, Percy wrapped his arms around himself. It was so cold in here, compared to outside. Nico was shivering, but the boy did not seem to mind the cold as much as Percy did.

The old lady at the front of the story smiled at them with a, “Welcome to Wal-Mart.” She offered them a shopping cart, but Percy shook his head. She continued to smile. “Nice to see you again, Nico.”

The boy smiled and gave a little wave. “Thanks. Nice to see you.”

When they were far enough in the store, Percy turned to Nico. “She didn't seem as bothered by you,” he whispered.

“Mrs. Edna?” Nico looked over his shoulder. “She's a sweet woman. Her eyesight is going a little, so is her hearing.” He bit on his lip as he stared at the woman. Something dark swirled around in Nico's eyes, like a snake slithering on the ground. “She's very old, probably won't live but another two years.”

“You can tell?”

Nico pointed at his face with a dull look. “Death family, remember?” The boy whispered. Nico frowned up at the taller boy. “What are we here for?”

“Oh.” Percy chuckled a little. “An umbrella.”

Nico arched a brow. “Funny that you have to get one today.”

“I know, right?” Percy grinned and slipped his hands into his pocket. “But what about the old lady?”

“Oh.” Nico pursed his lips before looking up. “She lives outside of town. Very sweet woman, she even was nice enough to bring us food after we buried my mother.” He cleared his throat. “Not everyone is so cruel around here.” Rubbing his arm and looking around, Nico pointed ahead of them. “Can we just get the umbrella?”

“You okay?”

Nico frowned and looked down at his feet. “Just don't like being out in public,” he mumbled.

Percy blinked. There were people staring at them, some giving Nico dirty looks. Percy frowned when he noticed some of those looks, urging the boy forward with his hand. “You seem relatively fine at school.”

“School is different,” Nico muttered, still not looking up. The boy rubbed his arm again, trying to draw in on himself. “Everyone is in a hurry to get places at school, and they don't really say much due to the fear of getting in trouble. But out here is different, the cops don't care that much about us.”

“You don't...own them?”

Nico gave him a curious look. “No.” He furrowed his brow and returned his gaze to his feet. “Businesses are one thing, but we don't really desire to own the police around here. That would just be wrong.”

Every step they took, Nico got dirty looks from the people in the store. And with every step, Nico drew more in on himself. As they passed a small glass display around the electronics, the glass wobbled. Percy stopped and arched a brow, but Nico yanked on his sleeve to keep him moving.

“Can we just hurry up?” Nico whispered.

Percy leaned in towards the pale boy. “Are you okay?”

“Being out in the open and public spaces make me nervous. Everyone stares at me like I'm some freak.”

“Okay,” Percy said softly, nodding his head. “Okay, just...where are the umbrellas?”

Nico pointed to an aisle a few feet ahead of them. Smiling, Percy grabbed Nico's arm and took the boy down the deserted aisle. Nico relaxed a little, but stood close by Percy. Not that Percy minded, quite the opposite in fact.

Percy scrunched his lips as he glanced through the small collection of umbrellas that they had here. Normally, he would have just picked the blue one straight away, but Percy wanted to try and cheer Nico up a little.

“What about this one?” Percy asked, picking up one that had caught his eye.

Nico gave him a funny look. “It's pink with ponies on it.”

Percy's green eyes grew wide as he gave Nico a pout. “But...it's cool.”

“Oh my god, are you five?” The pale boy shook his head. “You're a dork.”

“This one then?” Percy picked up another one, this one with Thomas the Tank Engine on it. He looked at Nico hopefully.

The boy sighed. “This is why your chances of dating me are abysmal. I don't date children.”

Percy stumbled back, holding his hand over his chest like he was wounded. “Ouch, so harsh.” He smiled and picked up a simple blue one. “Ready?”

“More than you know,” Nico sighed.

Percy tossed the umbrella in his hand as they walked, catching it with ease. Nico's eyes followed the umbrella as it went up and down, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. Percy smiled to himself. “So, how about we go back to my place and watch a movie?”

Nico rolled his eyes. “If it's another movie about witches-”

“I'll let you pick it out,” Percy offered.

Nico eyed him for a moment before responding. “I suppose I could-”

Percy blinked and turned to look over at Nico, who had an uncomfortable expression plastered across his face. Frowning, Percy turned around to find a woman ushering her two kids to get behind her. When she noticed Nico staring at her, she grabbed the cross that hung around her neck. “Stay back from me and my children, devil.”

“I'm not even doing anything,” Nico said softly.

Percy used his arm as a shield to push Nico back a little. “Is there a problem here, ma'am? We were literally not even bothering you.”

The woman glared hatefully at Nico. “I don't need his kind corrupting my children, like he's already obviously corrupted you.” She pointed her finger at Nico. “The devil has sent his servants to destroy this town.”

Percy shook his head in frustration. “Yeah, because you're not doing that well enough on your own. Maybe you should all move on and join the rest of the world in the modern era.” Nico yanked on his sleeve, but Percy just brushed him off.

“How can you not see their evil? They have murdered two pastors already. Isn't it obvious that they are trying to silence God's word from reaching our ears.”

“Percy,” Nico whispered behind him, but Percy continued to ignore the boy.

“Look, I might be new around here,” Percy began, “but I'm not blind enough to see that you treat people like Nico here horribly.” The green-eyed boy glared at the woman. “To me, you're the devils.”

“Why I ne-”

Percy and the woman looked up when the lights above them flickered. Percy quickly looked behind him to find Nico with his eyes closed, shaking furiously. “Please,” Nico whispered, “we need to go.”

Percy nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat and taking the boy's hand. As fast as he could, Percy paid for his umbrella and led Nico to the boy's car. Once outside, though, Nico jerked his arm away and opened his eyes.

“Nico,” Percy called out.

Nico stopped, the rain matting his hair against his face. “I told, I don't like being out in public like this.” He glanced around, lowering his voice. “My magic...my magic is tied to my emotions. When I get upset, things like that happen if I don't control myself.”

Percy shook his head. “It was just a flickering light, it wasn't that big of a deal.”

The boy furiously shook head. “No, you don't get it. My mind kept racing about her dying.” His dark eyes looked up at Percy, the blacks of his eyes threatening to swallow the dark brown irises. “When witches and warlocks wish for things hard enough, it actually happens, Percy. We are very dangerous at young ages, until we learn how to control these thoughts.” He shook his head again and moved closer to his car. “And, even then, it's a constant struggle for all of us to keep things like that from happening. If we don't, we'll expose magic, and that can't happen.”

Percy just stood there, soaking wet. Even though he had just purchased an umbrella, the green-eyed boy let himself get soaked. “Nico,” he said softly. The boy just tried to open his door, but seemed to be having trouble getting his keys out. “Nico.”

“I need to go home,” Nico whispered.

Percy grabbed his shoulders and turned the boy around. “It's okay.” The boy blinked up at him. He looked so beautiful in the rain, or so Percy thought. “I don't want you to go yet.”

Averting his gaze from Percy, Nico stared off at some shopping carts. “I should really get home.” The boy shuddered when Percy reached up to brush some of his wet hair away. His dark eyes returned to Percy's face, searching around, though Percy was not sure what Nico was looking for. “Do you...want to come back to my place for dinner?”

Percy smiled. He was supposed to have dinner at Nico's house, so it wouldn't hurt to get it over with. “Sure, if your dad doesn't mind.”

Nico cleared his throat, giving a small push against Percy's chest. He pulled out his phone as he opened the door. Percy smiled and jogged around the other side. He blinked as he sat down. It was like the car was magic itself, because Percy became completely dry the second he got into the car. Nico was dry as well, though he did not seem as interested in this new development as Percy was.

“Hi, Dad,” Nico said, his phone to his ear. He glanced over at Percy before looking at the steering wheel and running his finger along the top of it. “So, um, you know how Persephone asked if it was okay if the new kid in town came over and had dinner with us?” He pursed his lips, and Percy could hear a deep voice on the other end of the phone, though he was unable to make anything out. “Yes, I know Demeter has been nagging you about feeding him. No.” Nico narrowed his eyes. “Luke needs to shut up, and you don't need to listen to Aphrodite.”

Percy smiled as he watched the boy talk on the phone. He wasn't sure if he was still what they were talking about, but it kind of seemed like it. His smile grew when a faint blush appeared on Nico's cheeks. The boy's fingers tightened around the steering wheel.

“No, this not something you need to mistrust me with.” His face grew even more red as he talked. There was a brief pause and then, “Dad!” Percy could now hear a female voice on the phone. “We're not discussing this right now, Persephone.” Nico's eyes drifted over to where Percy. “Yes, he is.” The boy covered his face. “I'll see you when I get home.”

With a sigh, Nico hung up the phone and dropped it into his lap. Percy just smiled. “So, do I get to come over tonight?”

“Yeah,” Nico mumbled, “but only for dinner.” He chewed on his lip as he stared out the window. “It's best if you don't stay too late.”

\--------------------------------------------

Nico's house was amazing, to put it lightly. The obsidian road that was their driveway was illuminated by lampposts, a small fire burning in each one. The yard was massive. There was a swing set near a giant magnolia tree. Most of the area around the driveway was covered by rows and rows of flowers, which Nico said was Persephone's work. There were a lot more trees in the yard then there were at Luke or Silena's houses.

And then there was the house itself. Luke was right, Nico had the bigger house. To start things off, it had a third floor and was much wider than Luke or Silena's houses. The stonework had an older texture to it, but still looked like it had been built not too long ago. The stone was dark, not much lighter than the driveway. The grey columns that lined the outside of the house had been placed in absolutely symmetrical positions, so that they were completely even with each other. The driveway ended up circling a large fountain that was directly proportional to the massive door at the front of the house.

The entire second floor had a balcony that wrapped around the entire house, and even came with two antique-looking swings. Off to the side was a greenhouse that attached to the house. Beautiful green hedges had been placed on the side of the house that didn't have the greenhouse. The third floor had a massive circular window at the very center, which Nico said had a cushioned bench to sit on and stare outside. Two lanterns were perched on either side of the doors of the house. They were huge, double doors that looked like the had come straight out of a castle. In the very center of each was a gargoyle head with a doorknocker in its mouth.

Nico parked his car in a small garage off to the side of the manor. When he turned the car off, Nico turned to Percy. “Get the umbrella out.” Percy just blinked at him. “If we show up dry without it, my dad will start questioning things.”

“Right.” Quickly, Percy pulled the umbrella out of the plastic pouch that it had come in. Smiling, he stepped out of the car and opened it. Nico stuck close to him, which Percy did not mind at all, and closed the garage door that housed his car behind him.

In total, there were six garage doors, each separated by a wall. He asked Nico, and the boy listed off each garage door in order from left to right. His father, Persephone, Nico, Medea, Bianca, and then Hazel. Hazel was about to turn sixteen soon, so Nico's father went ahead and purchased her a car. It did not really dawn on Percy until now that Hazel lived with Nico.

“What happened to Hazel's parents?”

Nico just shook his head. “Let's not talk about it right now,” he whispered. As they got near the steps to the porch, Nico stopped them. He took a step away from Percy, but kept close enough to stay under the umbrella. “Before we go in, there is some things you need to know.”

“Okay?”

Nico popped his lips. “Okay, first, don't ask to go down to the basement. You don't want to go down there.” The brown-eyed boy held up his hand. “Don't ask. Also, try to stay close to me as much as you can, or just someone in the family.” Percy opened his mouth and Nico stopped him again. “Again, don't ask. “Lastly, don't bring up the fact that you know about us in the house, not even when you think we're alone.”

The way Nico said that last part did not make Percy feel comfortable. But Percy didn't have a chance to question anything, as Nico opened the front door. It was very silent, and the door creaked as it opened, like straight out of a horror movie. Percy gulped as he followed Nico inside. Nico grinned wickedly as he shut the door behind Percy and locked the door.

The lighting was dim inside, and Percy could hear the faint crackle of a fireplace. But the scary part? He had seen the entryway of the house before. Right in front of him was the very same stairs that Tartarus had stood at during the celebration of his ascension to Head of House. It looked untouched, straight out of Percy's dream. The railing of the staircase was polished as it led up the stairs. The house felt very old, though it did not exactly look it.

But the strangest part was that Percy got this weird feeling that he was being watched the second he entered the house.

A loud bark nearly startled Percy. Nico took a step back, which Percy found odd. In response, Nico just smiled creepily up at him. Percy opened his mouth to ask what was going on when the massive black dog that had jumped out of the tree came bounding at him. He yelped as the giant dog leaped at him, sending Percy onto his back.

Nico chuckled as Cerberus licked Percy's face, his massive tail wagging. Nico patted Cerberus on the back. “Good, dog.” Percy glared at the brown-eyed boy as the dog pulled back to bark in his face. A massive weight was put on his chest when the dog put his two front paws on Percy's chest.

“Help me,” Percy wheezed.

Nico just chuckled and ruffled the dog's head. “Okay, boy, get off him.” The dog barked, but pulled back and jumped on Nico, who was crouched down. Nico kissed the side of the dog's face. “He's harmless.”

Percy attempted to wipe the slobber off his face. “Yeah,” he mumbled, “looks real harmless.” He just blew out a breath and sat up. The dog was even bigger up close. “He's huge! I've never even seen a dog like him.”

“He's a rare breed,” came a low, dark voice. Percy paled a little. He had heard that voice before. Gulping, Percy looked up to find the cold, dark eyes of the man he had met in the graveyard. Nico's father.

Seeing the pale look on Percy's face, Nico shook his head. He helped the green-eyed boy to his feet. “Dad, this is Percy.”

“We've met,” the man mumbled. He was only slightly terrifying. He had a lot of Nico's features: pale skin, black hair, and a pair of dark eyes. Though, the man's hair was curly, whereas Nico had relatively straight hair. The man held out a cold hand for Percy to shake. “Hades di Angelo.”

Percy gulped. The man's hand was like an iron maiden: cold and deathly tight. He also wore a skull ring similar to the one on Nico's hand. Two rubies shimmered ever so enticingly in the low lighting. The man was dressed in a striped suit, and carried a black cane with a silver skull at the top of it. And just like Percy remembered him, Hades looked very youthful. Percy didn't know his age, but the man looked to be in his late twenties.

Someone clapped their hands behind Percy, and he was relieved when he heard Persephone's harmonic voice. “There you are!” She said happily. She walked over and leaned against Hades, placing her hand against his chest. In comparison, she looked even younger than her husband did. She looked close to Apollo's age. “We're so happy to be having you over for dinner, aren't we, dear?”

Hades grumbled. He straightened a curl by pushing it off to the side of his face. “Is dinner almost ready?”

“Almost.” Persephone smiled again, and it was like the sun entered the dimly lit room. “Mother's finishing up with the chicken cordon bleu, and then I think everything will be done.” Another grunt from her husband made the woman roll her eyes. She smiled at Nico and ran the back of her knuckles down his cheek. “Why don't you show Percy around a little, and then we'll call you down for dinner.”

“Yeah,” Nico muttered, but was busy staring at his father. The two seemed to be having a staring match, though Hades had the more intimidating stare, in Percy's opinion. Finally, Nico sighed and grabbed Percy's wrist.

They went up to the third floor, where Nico let Percy sit at the giant window. Percy probably resembled a dog with how excited he looked as he leaned against the glass. “Wow,” he breathed out.

“It's just a window,” Nico mumbled, sitting down next to Percy.

Percy frowned and looked over his shoulder. “Are there any bedrooms up here?”

Nico shook his head. “No. Why?”

“Just...wondering.” He scrunched his lips before turning around to sit down on the cushioned bench. “I just get this strange feeling that we're being watched.”

Nico slowly nodded. He didn't say anything, but held his fingers up to his lips with a look that told Percy that they'd talk about it later. Percy nodded back. They both turned when there were footsteps coming up from the stairway. Nico frowned when two heads came jogging up.

Hazel beamed at them. “Percy! It's so awesome that you came over for dinner.”

Percy smiled as the girl sat down between the two boys. “Yeah, your house is awesome.”

Bianca rolled her eyes. “Hazel,” she whispered, “maybe they want to be alone.”

Nico smacked his face. Hazel just blinked and looked between the two. Percy chuckled a little, which earned him a glare from the brown-eyed boy. “How many times do I have to tell you people that we are just friends?” Nico growled.

Smiling, Percy slung his arm around Nico's shoulders. “For now.”

Hazel grinned and jumped up. She placed both of her hands on Nico's cheeks with a completely serious look on her face. “I think you two would be adorable together.”

“Please, just kill me now.” Nico smacked her hands away. “I swear, you're all acting like children today.” Hazel just laughed and stuck out her tongue. “Please, stay. I might need a witness if I have to kill him.”

Bianca shook her head. “What are you guys doing anyways?”

“Just showing him the top floor,” Nico mumbled.

Bianca chuckled. “Good, because it's the only exciting floor.”

Percy arched his brow, scooting to the edge of his seat. “Why do you say that? This house is massive.”

Hazel let out a sigh, wrapping her hair around her finger. “And still not much to do. The top floor has most of your entertainment needs.” Taking a few steps back, the girl opened one of the doors. Percy could spot a massive TV and a few theater chairs inside. “Here's where we watch movies.” She pointed to the next door. “There's the gaming room, with a pool table and even a pinball machine. All gaming systems included.”

Bianca motioned down the other hall. “Most of that side is taken up by the library.”

Percy held up a hand. “Wait, you guys have a library? Not like a study, like an actual library?”

All three of them nodded. “Lots of books,” Hazel said with a grin. “They've been collected over the years. You even need a ladder to get to some of them.”

Okay, now Percy wasn't much of a reader, but even he could admit that was pretty cool. No wonder Nico had so many books that he kept throwing at Percy.

Nico pulled his legs up to his chest and rested his cheek against his knee. “And beyond that is where we store all of the movies.”

Percy quirked a brow at that. He glanced down the hall. “Um, couldn't you just put them in the entertainment room?”

“No,” all three of the replied.

“Yeah, we have a lot. DVD, VHS, and even some reels that dad acquired.” Bianca grinned down at her brother. “Nico likes the silent ones.”

“Shut up,” Nico mumbled. He frowned when he noticed Percy smiling at him. “They're good!” Percy held up his hands in defense. “Charlie Chaplin was amazing.”

“Dinner,” Persephone sang from downstairs.

Percy found the table to be a little more awkward than he thought it might be. Nico picked out a seat and motioned for Percy to sit next to him. He began to smile, but Nico shot him a look that told him it wasn't meant to be affectionate. For whatever reason, Nico wanted Percy to stick close to him. Hazel sat on the other side of Percy, while Bianca, Medea, and Demeter sat on the other side of the table. And that left Hades and Persephone with each end of the table.

“Percy, I do hope you're hungry,” Demeter said with a laugh.

Percy smiled, trying not to look sick. It wasn't that he wasn't hungry or the food didn't look good, because he was and it did. But he still was unsure if he was ready to try Demeter's cooking again after finding out about the fall festival incident. However, the smell of the food was too much and Percy had to let his stomach do the thinking for him.

While Percy wasn't completely sure, he got the feeling that Nico had talked with Medea already. The eldest child glared over at Percy, while Nico glared back at her, daring her to say something. Meanwhile, Hades sat between his two children on either side of him, his eyes flickering back and forth between them.

“Have I missed some latest teenage angst disagreement?” Hades mumbled.

“No,” Medea and Nico grumbled at the same time, their eyes locked.

Their father let out a sigh and lifted a glass of wine to his lips. “I am so ready for you all to grow up and run off to college for a few years.” Hazel looked sat at this. The man let out a sigh and held up a hand in her direction. “Not you, Hazel dear.” She smiled and went back to eating her food.

Demeter was the next to make conversation. “So, Percy, Hermes says that you had a father named Don, is that correct?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

The woman gave a small nod. Her eyes darted over to her son-in-law, who narrowed his eyes. “Interesting.”

“We discussed this,” the man grumbled, clearing his throat and shifting in his seat.

“What?” Bianca asked, chewing on some of her food.

Hades and Demeter looked at each other again before the man replied. “Nothing, my dearest.” Percy felt confused, but apparently so did Nico. The boy chewed on his food, but stared curiously at his father. When Cerberus barked, Hades threw the dog a piece of chicken. He let out a sigh. “So, Percy, I hear you have an interest in my son.”

Percy felt his cheeks heat up. Nico dropped his fork on his plate. “Dad!”

Persephone motioned for the boy to quiet down. “Now, now, Hades, let's not torture the poor boy.”

But Hades just kept staring at Percy, waiting for an answer and swirling his glass of wine around in his hand. Percy fumbled with his mouth. “Um, well...” He glanced at the boy beside him, who had an eyebrow arched. “I do.”

“In an openly homophobic town, too,” the man sighed. “Does that not bother you?”

Percy simply shook his head. “No, sir.”

Hades took a sip and nodded. “I see.” Percy gulped and looked down. Cerberus was watching him from the floor. Hades tapped a finger against his glass. “I suppose I do owe you a thanks for sticking up for my son.”

Percy gave a small chuckle. “I don't really think he needs any protection.” Nico shot him a dark look.

“No,” Hades mused, glancing between the two boys, “I suppose he doesn't.”

“How is the chicken, Percy?” Demeter chimed in, narrowing her eyes at Hades, who let out a sigh and slouched in his chair.

“Horrible,” Medea grumbled.

“You think everything is horrible,” Bianca retorted.

Percy just smiled across the table at Demeter. “It's really good, thank you.”

The woman waved him off while taking a drink of wine. “Think nothing of it, dear.”

Percy smiled until he looked over at Nico. The boy just sort of sat there, poking his food. Demeter had loaded down his plate, but the boy had barely touched it. This did not go unnoticed by the woman, who urged Nico to eat. Nico sighed and lifted a small bite of food to his mouth. It was so curious, Percy thought, it did not seem like Nico's home life was so bad. So why did Nico have bruises and not be at home a lot of the time? And why did Nico seem so tired most of the time, and eat so little?

“So, Percy.” Medea grinned across the table at him, twisting her fork around in her mashed potatoes. “How's living all alone?”

Percy had to bite his tongue. He was beginning to think Nico was right about his sister haunting him. But he could not let her know that he knew what she was. He just shrugged. “It's okay, can be very quiet.”

Demeter just shook her head. “Poor dear. Feel free to come around here whenever you want.” Hades did not look so pleased with the woman's invitation, but he chose not to say anything.

When he saw that Percy was done with his food, Nico asked to be excused from the table. Grumbling with another sip of wine, Hades motioned for them to leave. Nico quickly nodded to the door. Percy thanked them again for the meal before following Nico up the stairs. As usual when in positions like this, Percy took the opportunity to look at Nico's ass in his tight jeans.

Nico walked to the end of the hall on the right wing and opened the door on his left.

It looked like a master bedroom due to the size, so Percy had to wonder just how big Hades and Persephone's room was. Nico had a canopy bed against the back wall, with black curtains that were closed except for the left side. It had also not been made since Nico woke up apparently, not that Percy could say much, since he rarely made his own bed. There was a oak desk not far from the bed, a leather office chair pushed up against it. On top of the desk was was the boy's desktop. Two speakers sat on either side of a twenty-seven inch monitor. A very expensive headset sat on top of the computer's tower. And the boy had his forty inch TV mounted on the wall beside his desk, and even had it hooked up to the computer as well.

There was a walk-in closet against the left wall, which was open, allowing Percy to see Nico's large assortment of clothes. The boy also had his own private bathroom. When Percy asked about that, Nico's response was, “It's not fun trying to get ready with four women in the house. Dad has to use my bathroom sometimes, because Persephone takes so long in the mornings.”

There was a small bookshelf to the right of where Percy stood in the doorway. If Percy had to guess, it was full of Nico's favorite books, rather than keep them in the library they had. But, overall, the room was relatively clean and tidy, save for the unmade bed.

Percy sat down on Nico's bed and looked around. The ceiling was dotted with tiny specs. Percy's brow furrowed and he narrowed his gaze, trying to figure out what they were. He jumped when the light turned off. Nico stood in the doorway, and Percy saw the boy point up to the ceiling.

“Better?” Came Nico's soft voice.

Percy's mouth hung open a little. They were stars. But not like the tiny plastic star shapes children put on their ceilings. This was fairly accurate to the night sky, and even had a streak across it at one point, making the appearance of a shooting star. Some were bigger than others, while others were barely noticeable. The canopy bed also had nothing covering the top of it, so it would allow whoever slept in it a complete view of the ceiling.

Nico switched the light back on before going over to the bed and sitting next to Percy. “This is pretty cool,” Percy said, leaning back on his palms.

“Thanks.” Nico laid down on his side, bringing one of his legs up. His eyes closed and Percy wondered if the guy was going to fall asleep.

“Tired?”

Nico hummed in response. “Not at all.”

Percy smiled. That was a lie. Percy's eyes roamed over to Nico's clock. He needed to leave soon in order to make it to that circle meeting. But looking at Nico laying there with his eyes closed, Percy found it very hard to want to go anywhere. Without really thinking about it, Percy found himself laying down next to Nico.

The boy cracked an eye open and turned his head to look at the green-eyed boy when Percy shifted closer to Nico and slid his legs in to intertwine with Nico's own legs. The boy shuddered when Percy's fingers trailed underneath his shirt, ghosting over his hips and along his back. Percy frowned when he felt one of the bruises.

“How'd you get all of those?” Percy whispered.

Nico opened his mouth, but something stopped him. He frowned and sat up, pulling away, much to Percy's disappointment. At least until Percy saw Cerberus laying down in the doorway. The way he was watching them was very creepy, almost like he comprehended what was going on. Cerberus wagged his tail as Nico approached. Narrowing his eyes, Nico shut his door and went back over to the bed.

Percy smiled when Nico curled against him of his own accord. Not questioning it, Percy slid an arm around Nico's waist and rested his nose against Nico's shoulder blade. “I don't really want to talk about it,” Nico whispered, the sound reverberating against Percy's skin where his face touched Nico's back.

“Oh.”

“Not right now,” Nico whispered. The boy trailed his fingers along Percy's arm. “Not tonight.”

Percy nodded, knowing Nico could feel this movement. The green-eyed boy inhaled and the smell of peppermint filled his senses. “Why'd you close the door?” He mumbled against Nico's cold skin.

Nico just shook his head, letting Percy know they couldn't talk about it right now. But Percy didn't understand. They were alone, unless Hades or someone could listen in somehow. But Nico would do something about that, wouldn't he?

Didn't really matter at the moment, though. Percy was just enjoying this moment, as it was the closest he had ever been to Nico. He didn't know how to really explain it, but he felt content like this, like this was how they were supposed to be. That nothing else mattered when they were close like this. The feel of Nico's soft skin underneath his touch made Percy's own skin tingle, and he could feel a warmth every time that he touched Nico's skin. The same was true for when Nico touched his arm. It was like heat lingered behind the boy's touch, but neither of them voiced this out loud.

Hesitantly, Percy looked at the clock again. It was fifteen minutes after seven. He still needed to get back to his apartment and drive an hour, not to mention make sure he had enough time to find the place. So, reluctantly, Percy let Nico go.

“I have to go,” he whispered.

Nico rolled over with a sleepy look in his eyes. He let out a yawn and frowned. “Oh,” the boy whispered.

Percy's heart did a somersault at hearing the sad town in Nico's voice. He almost wanted to just stay there. “I mean, I could stay a little longer, if you wanted.”

Nico gave a lazy smile and shook his head. “You should probably go, it's already dark.” Percy's eyes flickered down to some exposed skin when Nico stretched. He really had issues that he didn't even understand.

Running a hand through his hair, Percy got up and followed Nico out of the room. After telling everyone goodnight and thanking them for dinner again, the two boys stepped out of the house and Nico shut the door behind them. The boy let out a visible sigh and shook his head. Percy just smiled at him.

“Wasn't so bad.”

Nico narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.”

Percy stretched, using the opportunity to wrap his arms around Nico when he brought his arms down. As soon as his arms made contact with Nico, Percy heard voices. He didn't see anyone, but he could hear Kronos and Tartarus.

“No, I forbid you to do this!” Came Kronos's angry voice, the sound of feet hitting the steps behind Percy.

“This is her fault!” Tartarus yelled back. “I will not let him die!” The sound of a door slamming could be heard in Percy's head.

Nico shook his head and patted Percy's back. “I'm driving you home, you know.”

“I know,” Percy mumbled, still holding Nico. He didn't want to pull away just yet. He didn't want Nico to see his face just yet. That was very odd, Percy thought. It was like it was there. Had the two had an argument in this spot in the past?

Nico finally whined and pushed Percy away before heading towards his car. Percy slowly followed behind the boy. What did this mean? Maybe since the dreams were already put there, Percy just had to wait them out and let them come. But why did anyone want him to see them?

When they got back to Percy's apartment, Nico asked him what he had to do. Percy hesitated and eventually said that he needed to do some homework. Nico had given him an odd look, and had reminded Percy that he still had tomorrow to get it done. Percy had just grinned and said that it would give him more time to spend with Nico tomorrow.

Unfortunately, Nico said that he probably wouldn't see Percy the next day, as he had lessons with his father. Percy understood and said that he'd text the boy later. Nico gave a small nod, still looking at Percy strange. He didn't believe Percy. Not that he probably should, since Percy was actually lying to him. Either way, Nico had driven off and Percy eventually found himself driving in the direction the circle was supposed to meet.

He was actually a little nervous about this. Percy was almost positive that these people wouldn't actually be able to use magic, but it was more about understanding the craft that Nico and the others used. On the bright side, perhaps it would be an entertaining experience.

As it turned out, these people met in a clearing in the middle of the woods. Luckily, Percy carried a flashlight in his car, as well as the fact that the people actually lit a path to the spot. When he arrived a heavy set woman greeted him.

“I believe we spoke on the phone,” she told him.

Percy nodded. “Thanks again for having me.”

It was a rather small group, just five adults of various ages. Three were female, while the last two were male. He tried to watch as much as possible while the group set everything up. At the very center of everything was a bonfire. There were a lot of herbs that got put out on a small table, and a few matches to light some candles that were put in five corners. The woman that he spoken to over the phone carried a large walking stick made out of a tree branch, which had some gems and incense on the top of it. The taller of the two males carried with him a wooden stick, no longer than two rulers put together. There were some herbs tied to each end with some string.

While the rain had stopped for the moment, it was still thundering overhead. Percy quirked a brow at the other guy in the group, who wore deer horns on top of his head. They displayed no signs of possessing magic like Luke and the others did, though. And, even comparing this group to what Percy saw Jason and the others doing the other night, this seemed incorrect in comparison. But who was Percy to judge, since he only found about magic two nights ago. So, he would just sit quietly and watch them do their thing.

As they finished lighting their candles, thunder boomed and wind blew overhead. The five of them got excited by this.

“What are you doing?”

Percy nearly fell off of the stump he was perched on when he heard Nico's voice. There the pale boy sat, right next to him. When or how he had got there, Percy did not know. But the others seemed to notice him and stopped what they were doing.

“Who is this?” The guy with the antlers asked.

“I already don't like you.” The way Nico was looking at the man, his eyes staring in disgust at the antlers, it made Percy very nervous. “You people don't even know what you're dabbling in, do you?”

“Excuse me?” The woman that Percy had spoken on the phone asked in shock. “I'll have you know that I am a High Priestess of-” Her mouth clamped shut, her eyes widening.

“Yeah, I don't care,” the boy whispered. His eyes were dark as he got off of the stump and slipped his hands into his aviator jacket pockets.

One of the other two women, a young woman probably no older than twenty-five stepped forward. “I think you should leave.”

The man with the odd stick nodded in agreement. “Yes, leave now.” Nico arched a brow at this man, who held up his stick in what Percy could only assume was meant to unnerve the boy. “Leave now, or we shall invoke one of our gods on you.”

As if it didn't bother him at all, Nico tossed his head back and laughed. He laughed until it died down into a chuckle and he stepped closer to the man, looking the stick in his hands over. “Oh, this looks cool. Can I see it?” The man in question seemed confused, but let Nico take the stick. Nico's smile instantly fell and he snapped the stick in half, tossing its remains into the bonfire that the group had lit. “Much better.” With a dark look, he pointed at the man. “Don't ever threaten me with my own gods.”

“You broke it!” The man cried out.

Nico shook his head. “You're all pathetic. I don't care much for practicing witches, you always tend to get our craft wrong.”

The women whispered amongst themselves. The heavy set woman looked Nico over. “What do you know of the craft?”

Nico placed his hands on his chest with a gasp. Percy could tell that he was playing with them, which bothered him a little. He was seeing more of that darkness that he could sometimes see in Nico's eyes. It was a little scary.

From the woman's hand flew her staff, which Nico caught. Raising his knee, Nico broke it in half as well. “Real witches don't use these.”

“Um, Nico, I don't think you should be doing that in front of them,” Percy whispered.

But Nico didn't listen. The man with antlers was brave enough, or stupid enough, to try and attack Nico. Nico just stood there until the man was practically on top of him before snapping his fingers and a tree branch came down to wrap around the man's legs, jerking the man up into the air and dangling him around.

“Oops,” Nico said innocently. A smirk crept across his face. “Sorry, my fingers slipped.”

“I thought you couldn't use magic in front of people!” Percy finally yelled out.

Nico turned around to face him, frowning. “Just a little fun.”

The members of the circle, save for the one hanging in the air, all got down and bowed to Nico. “The Horned God has appeared to us!” They cried out.

“I am definitely not your god.” Nico waved a hand and they all shot to their feet. His dark gaze found the man in the tree. “But that...” He pointed to the antlers. “If I ever see you wearing those again, I'll turn you into a deer.” He slipped his hands into his pockets and turned back to Percy. “Are you done with these buffoons?”

“Um, you....” Percy blew out a breath. “I don't think, you know, they need to remember this.”

Nico gave a small nod. With a flick of his hand, the man from the tree fell down. The antlers ended up breaking, but the guy seemed unharmed. Extending his hand and holding out his palm, an apple appeared in Nico's head. A deep, deep shade of red. The color of blood. But it was perfect to look at, and the members of the circle thought so, too.

“Eat,” Nico commanded. The woman Percy had talked to took the first bite before passing it down, and they each ate a bite. Once it was done, the man that had worn the antlers dropped the core to the ground, where it slowly shriveled and turned black. Nico's eyes were back to their normal dark brown color. “There. Happy?”

The adults just sort of sat there on their knees, blank looks on their faces. Percy gave them each an odd look before jogging after Percy. “What was that?”

The boy shrugged. “Just a little fun. They won't remember anything, and they'll wake up in half an hour. They'll feel refreshed and carry on with their dumb practice.”

“But it's what you practice.”

Nico stopped, putting a hand to Percy's chest. “That is not what I practice. That is a mockery of my craft. If you want to know about us, just ask, don't go to people like that.” Percy gulped and nodded. Nico was a little scary now. The boy huffed and continued on his way. “They'll be fine, though.”

“You didn't seem to like that one guy.”

Nico stopped again, sliding his hands into his pockets. “No, I didn't. In our craft, we don't dawn apparel to represent the Horned God or the Triple Goddess.”

Percy was the one to stop Nico this time. “Okay, so who is that? I've heard of the Triple Goddess in myth or something.”

“Not myth.” Nico shook his head. “Unlike a lot of religions, people that actually possess magic have been known to see or commune with our gods.” Nico chewed on his lip, thinking about something. “The Horned God, The Lord, the Old One. Or even older still, Cernunnos. He has many names. He is what the Christian church wants to call our Satan.”

“Is he,” Percy hesitated, “evil?”

“What have I said about magic?” Nico asked exasperatedly.

“Right.” Percy rubbed the back of his neck. “So, um, why get angry at that guy for wearing that stuff?”

“Like I said, we don't do it. It's considered a mockery of Cernunnos to do so. Sort of like how the Bible condemns false idols, except our god never told us not to. It's just sort of a sign of respect for our gods.”

Percy frowned. “How did you even find me?”

Nico vanished in a cloud of smoke. “Magic.” Percy jumped. Nico was now behind him, smirking. He shook his head before holding out his palm. Another red apple was there. Quirking a brow at Percy, Nico held his palm out for the green-eyed boy. “Apple?”

Percy quickly shook his head. Nico just shrugged and raised the apple to his lips, taking a bite.

When the arrived at Percy's car, the green-eyed boy looked around. “Um, where's your car?”

Nico shrugged. “I took it home.” Percy seemed confused by this. “And then I shadowed over here.”

“What's that?”

“Like teleporting, but different houses have different forms of it.”

Percy gave a nod. His head felt so burnt out that he was afraid it might start smoking at any moment. “You know,” Percy began, “I think that's all I need to know about magic for today. My head is starting to hurt.”

Nico smiled and nodded. Percy unlocked his car, but the other boy just stood there. When Percy looked over at him, Nico shook his head. “I'm fine.”

“Or, you could let me drive you home. Not everything needs to be done with magic.”

Nico shoved him against the car. “I don't use magic for my convenience, thank you very much.”

Percy arched a brow. “Never?”

Nico narrowed his eyes. “Shut up and drive me home,” he mumbled and climbed in on the other side. Percy smiled and climbed in.

The drive to Nico's house helped a lot. Processing that Nico willingly displayed his powers in front of mortals, only to wipe their memories, was a little concerning. It made Percy wonder if this had ever happened with the people in Aimes. This was an hour away, something not so easily traceable to Nico, though the people wouldn't remember anyways. But what if they had done something similar to some of the people in Aimes? Why hadn't they done it to Grover?

By the time they arrived in front of Nico's house, Percy's head was even worse. It was half past ten, and Percy just wanted to go home and pass out for the night. At first, it was all exciting to learn magic did exist, though a little freaky. But now it just gave him a headache just to try and keep up with the rules, what they could do, and how it all worked. No wonder they tended to keep it to themselves, normal people would have their brains fried trying to understand it all.

It had started raining again during their drive, so Percy offered to walk Nico to the door with his umbrella. Nico said Percy didn't have to, but Percy made the excuse that it wouldn't raise suspicion with Nico's father. Nico mumbled that he could just dry off once inside.

“You're a dork,” Nico mumbled once they were on the porch.

Percy smiled at that. “So, I guess I won't see you until Monday?”

Nico gave a small nod. “Sorry.” He bit down on his lip. “But thanks...I had fun.”

“I bet you did,” Percy grinned.

“Not torturing people,” Nico growled. Sighing, Nico rolled his eyes. “You're...not as bad as I thought you were originally.”

Percy smiled again and rubbed the back of his neck. “Not so bad yourself.” A stray strand of hair caught Percy's attention. His heart pounded in his chest as he reached out to fix it. As he slowly pushed the strand out of Nico's face, their eyes locked. Now, after witnessing what Percy had, he liked to think he was a very brave man for doing what he did next.

Without saying anything, Percy leaned in and pressed their lips together. The best part? Nico lets him do it. The worst part? Well, that was the weird part. Percy's eyes widened and he drew away when a dark green spark crackled between their lips, on top of the lights on the porch shooting out. Nico reached up and touched his lips. It had been so hot, and not in the good kind of way. It had burned, but not quite so painful. It was like a searing heat, like Percy had felt when he touched Nico on his birthday.

Percy touched his lips with a frown. “If you didn't want me to kiss you, you could have just said so,” he mumbled.

Nico rolled his eyes, still rubbing his lips. “I didn't do anything, jerk.” Running a hand through his hair, Nico sighed. He seemed to be in deep thought, whatever was on his mind. “It is interesting, though.”

As if things could not have gotten worse, there was a tapping against one of the window. Nico rolled his eyes and waved at the window. Persephone smiled out at the two. Nico let out a long sigh. Percy supposed that meant their time was up. With a final wave at Percy, Persephone closed the curtain on the window. Nico was looking down when Percy looked at him again.

“Well, I guess I'll see you later,” Percy said. He lifted the umbrella over his head again before stepping out under the rain.

But, to his surprise, Nico grabbed his arm and turned him around. The brown-eyed boy's hand gripped the front of his shirt and yanked Percy down. The older boy's eyes widened as Nico crashed their lips together. Not about to let this opportunity slip by him, Percy let go of the umbrella and cupped Nico's face, deepening the kiss. Nico's fists gripped his shirt tighter.

Percy slipped a hand into Nico's rain soaked hair. There was no heat this time, no shock to their lips. As hard as it was raining, the two were probably soaked from head to toe in a matter of seconds, but Percy honestly did not care at the moment. He finally had gotten Nico to kiss him, and that was all that mattered presently.

Once they were out of breath, Nico lightly pushed on Percy's chest and pulled away. His lips were swollen, and it only made Percy want to kiss the other boy more. So he did. It was a quick peck on the lips, but Nico still let him do it.

“I, um,” Nico patted Percy's chest, “shouldn't have done that.” He blew out a breath. “Don't know what came over me.”

Percy just nodded and slid his fingers into the back of Nico's hair, pulling the boy in for another kiss. One of Percy's arms slid down to wrap around the shorter boy's waist, pulling their bodies together. Nico let out a moan, but lightly pushed Percy back.

The boy ran his tongue along his lips with a chuckle. “I think I'm going to have to restrain you.”

Percy grinned. “To your bed?”

Nico rolled his eyes. “And there goes the moment.” He shook his head. “Just don't let this go to your head, I'm still not sure if dating you is the best idea.”

Percy leaned in again. “Doesn't mean you shouldn't.”

But Nico dipped his head to the side and Percy kissed his cheek. With the rain soaking their hair, their hair hung in both of their eyes. Reaching up, Percy tilted Nico's head and pressed their lips together again. Nico pulled away. “I...really need to go inside.”

Percy nodded. He smiled, running his hand through his wet hair. “So, another date?”

“Who said either of these nights have been a date?” Nico brushed his wet hair out of his face. “I'll think about it, and I'll give you an answer before next weekend.” Percy smiled and nodded before he attempted to get one last kiss. Unfortunately, Nico lightly pushed him away with a chuckle. “Go! You're gonna get sick out here.”

As it turned out, he wasn't going to. Once Percy was in his car, he turned dry. Nico stuck his tongue out and gave a little wave before turning around and heading back inside his house, tossing Percy one final glance from the doorway.

Percy just fell back against his seat and tossed his hands up against the roof of his car. His night had been so good. Not even just one kiss, he had gotten a few. And even better, Nico had seemed happy afterward. Things might have been looking up for Percy.


	12. A Figure in the Dark

Almost a week later, Percy found himself walking down the families' road with Nico, Luke, and Annabeth after school Friday afternoon. Though, honestly, the week had been a blur to him. It had gotten to the point where Ms. Stheno had gotten irritated with him for not paying attention a single day that week. But how did anyone expect him to pay attention to the older woman, when Nico's lips were looking so appealing.

Not that they had kissed since the previous weekend.

Annabeth had made him a list of each driveway and who it belonged to. The first house on the left belonged to Clarisse and Frank's family, and across the road from them was Beckendorf and Leo's house. Next was Dionysus and Demeter's houses. Annabeth's house came after that, which had a large field across the road from it. Next was the house Percy knew to belong to Luke's family, and across from it was Artemis's home. A little down the road was Silena and Piper's house, and a house that they told Percy was empty across from it.

“Hera's house,” Nico whispered to him as they walked past the old gate with peacock feathers for iron bars. Nico slipped his hands into his pockets. “Since she's married to Jason and Thalia's father, she lives there. Rachel will eventually move into the house, after she graduates this year and gets to become Head of House.”

Annabeth let out a sigh. “It'll be nice, seeing the changing of leadership in a house. The last time we got to see that...” Her eyes drifted over to Luke, who frowned and kicked at a rock.

Percy looked at Nico questioningly, but the boy was staring at his friend.

They continued on with their tour down the road, clearly wanting to avoid the subject. “Here's Apollo's house,” Annabeth said, motioning to a gate with a sun and harp in the center of the gate.

They came to the end of the road a little after that. There were still three gates left, which made Percy do a quick recount in his head to make sure he got the numbers right. He still came up with one extra.

He knew the one on the right was Nico's house, which meant the one on the left belonged to Jason. Their gates were different than the others, though. The one on the left was golden, while the one on the right was obsidian. Their gates seemed taller as well. But there was still the matter of the gate at the very end of the road.

The others didn't even seem to want to take Percy near it, and Nico tried to grab him as the green-eyed boy moved closer to inspect it. There were no symbols on it like the other gates, and it creaked as the wind blew it gently. Vines and moss had overtaken the metal gate, growing wildly all around the iron fence. The woods felt thicker around the gate, and he even got the feeling that something might be watching him. Percy shivered and took a step back from the large gate.

A gust of wind picked up around them and blew some of the leaves that covered the road around the families' homes. He glanced over his shoulder at the other three, motioning towards the large gate. “What's this one?”

“Nothing,” Luke quickly said.

Annabeth rolled her eyes at the blond boy and walked up to the gate. She gave a shrug before turning around to face Percy. “Just an old house we don't use anymore. It was the first one that our families built when we came here. We needed a place to live, so we made one for all of us to live in. It's sort of why we stuck with the large house theme, so we didn't outdo each other.”

Nico's expression was blank when Percy glanced over at the boy. He blinked dully at the blonde as she gripped one of the metal bars of the gate. Percy's lips tilted down. “So, you have thirteen houses, two of which are vacant?” He shook his head. “I kind of want to hate all of you,” the boy chuckled. “You have two empty mansions just going to waste.”

Nico gave a casual shrug. “Well, to be fair, Rachel will be putting one to use again soon enough.” Percy caught the boy's eyes as they flickered into the woods beyond the gate. “Shall we go find something else to do, now that you know where everyone lives?”

They ended up in the large field across the road from Annabeth's house. The grass wasn't really maintained, so most of it came above their heads whenever they sat down. Something different that Percy noted was that Nico did not get cuddly with Luke like he normally would. Though, he didn't do it with Percy either. The boy just sort of sat there between Luke and Percy indifferently. They did show Percy something interesting, though.

Nico was reluctant to do whatever it was at first, but Luke kept begging him. “You'll think this is cool,” the blond told Percy.

“Boys,” Annabeth mumbled with the roll of her eyes.

Nico finally rolled his eyes and held his hand out. Grinning wildly, Luke propped himself up on his elbow and held his own hand out until it was only an inch apart from Nico's. A faint red glow emanated between their two palms, and eventually a bright, blood red line appeared in the center of both of their palms.

Nico held his hand out for Percy to witness red marks appear around the red line. They looked like runes. Nico flexed his hand, and eventually the markings went away.

Percy's brow furrowed. “What was that?”

Luke grinned. “Nico and I are blood brothers. It means we've sworn an oath to protect each other.”

Nico let out a sigh and rolled his sleeves down to cover his hand. “I never asked you to do it.”

Luke gave a shrug before turning back to Percy. “A few of us are bonded. It just means that we'll do whatever we have to in order to ensure our partner's safety.”

Percy gave a nod. “Is that why you two are so close?” He asked, motioning between the two.

Luke grinned and slung an arm around Nico. “Nah, this guy was already my best buddy before then.” He smiled at Percy. “I just wanted him to feel safe after...” His smile faltered and the blond glanced down at Nico. “Well, after everything that happened.”

Oh, Percy thought. It was unspoken, but Percy understood. After Nico's mother died.

“Jason wasn't too happy about it,” Annabeth mumbled, picking at some grass.

Nico pulled his legs under his chin and frowned. “Yeah, well, he can get over himself.”

Percy glanced at Nico, though the boy seemed caught up in his own thoughts. He still wanted to know their story, but Percy wasn't sure now was the best time to ask about it. There was no telling how Nico would even react.

For a little while after that, Luke described to Percy how the process worked. It sounded very painful, as it involved cutting their palms and smearing the blood to act as the runes that appeared whenever they wanted to see their bond. Luke confessed that it feels like the body is on fire, but Nico just claimed that Luke was a big baby.

All too soon for Percy's liking, Annabeth announced that they had to leave. Percy asked if they wanted to do anything later, but Luke said that they had to go to a special sort of lesson tonight. Nico rolled his eyes at that. “It's just something Firsts have to do every so often,” he mumbled to Percy.

Percy gave a nod, slipping his hands into his pockets. He chewed on his lips as Luke and Annabeth started to head back to the road. “It's okay,” said the green-eyed boy. He gave a lopsided smile. “Any chance I could see you later tonight?”

Nico glanced over his shoulder briefly. “I...don't know.” The pale boy frowned, causing Percy's heart to drop. “I'm still not sure this is the best idea.”

“Please?”

Nico bit down on his lip. “I'll talk to you later Percy,” Nico whispered before turning around and following after the other two.

Later that night, Percy found himself sitting in front of the TV with some random horror movie playing. He lay on his side, with his cheek pressed lazily against the cushion. Now he remembered why he had tried to balance being friends with multiple people around here. Because on nights like this, when Nico and the others couldn't spend time with him, Percy had absolutely nothing to do. But that was all out the window now, since Percy came out as bisexual to the popular kids at school. By now, it was probably all over town.

Percy briefly wondered if he would be kicked out of his apartment for being bisexual?

It had started to rain a little over two hours ago, with no sign of stopping any time soon. But, unlike last weekend, thunder and lightning accompanied this storm. Percy groaned and stuffed popcorn into his mouth as the main character slowly crept into a dark room with an ax in her hand. She was probably going to die, Percy thought to himself.

Thunder cracked outside loudly, causing Percy to bolt up. It was so loud. He frowned and wondered what would be the best course of action if things got too severe. Though, his thoughts quickly turned to panic as he practically jumped off the couch when there was a knock at the door. Glancing at his phone, Percy wondered who could be at his apartment at midnight. He slowly crept over to the door after grabbing his baseball bat. Taking in a breath, the boy opened the door.

Lightning flashed outside, revealing a dark figure in the doorway. Percy stiffened and readied the bat to swing. The figure tossed the hood of their jacket off. “If you're going to hit me with that, you better hope you don't kill me, because I will haunt you myself, Jackson,” Nico mumbled as he brushed past Percy to enter the apartment.

Letting out a breath, Percy dropped the bat beside the door as he shut it. “What are you doing here?”

Turning around, Percy's heart began to race. Nico was soaked. He had seen the boy soaked last weekend, but it never stopped to be appealing to him. Nico's hair clung to his face, dripping incessantly. His clothes appeared to be completely soaked, even though he had worn a jacket. But Percy quickly noticed that Nico was shivering a little and disappeared down the hall.

“Let me get you something dry,” he called back to the other boy.

“You don't have to!” Nico said. “I can just dry myself.”

But Percy was already back with an old shirt of his and a pair of blue cotton shorts. He smiled and held them out for Nico. The boy sighed and took them, shaking his head lightly. Percy beamed. “Ah.” Percy blinked and went for the bathroom. “I forgot a towel.”

Nico rolled his eyes at him, but took the towel. “Really, I can just dry myself.” He rubbed his arm awkwardly. “I was, um, wondering if...I could stay here tonight.” He quickly looked up when Percy started to grin. “Nothing like that. I just...don't really-”

“It's fine,” Percy quickly said. Nico gave a nod. Clearing his throat, Percy motioned towards the bathroom. “You can, um, change in there.”

The brown-eyed boy disappeared down the hall, slipping into the bathroom. Percy gulped when he noticed the door didn't shut all the way. And something that he had learned early on from living here: If the door didn't shut, it would slowly open until it made contact with the bathroom wall. Sure enough, it did.

His mind got away from him, and Percy found his feet carrying him down the hall. Percy's heart raced as he neared the bathroom. He caught sight of Nico in the bathroom mirror.

Nico was already bent over, trying to get his pants off of his skinny legs. But it seemed that the rain really had soaked through all of Nico's clothes, as Nico's boxer-briefs clung to him enough to give Percy a good idea of what lay beneath the dark fabric. The hem of Nico's wet shirt slowly came up to reveal Nico's pale back. It seemed to give the boy some trouble, as it clung against every inch of Nico's skin. Not that Percy could really blame the shirt.

But Percy's mood was quickly soured when he noticed fresh bruises on the boy's back. The green-eyed boy frowned as he placed a hand against the door frame. The contrasted against Nico's pale flesh so horribly. It made Percy feel sick and angry at the thought of anyone harming Nico so much.

Nico's head snapped around and caught Percy staring at him. Percy's face turned extremely red as he disappeared from the doorway and went back to the living room. Clearing his throat and trying to will away his blush, Percy turned off the TV and lights before heading to his bedroom. Shit, he thought. He probably shouldn't have been staring.

The light in the bathroom turned off a few seconds later, and Nico made his way into Percy's room. The shirt that Percy had given him was a little large on the boy, hanging partially off of Nico's shoulder. He looked so hot, Percy thought.

But Percy forced himself to clear those thoughts away for now. He cleared his throat, realizing that Nico was staring at him in an unreadable way. “I...” Percy fumbled with his hands, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-”

Nico cut him off by moving forward and pressing their lips together. It caught Percy by surprise, and the older boy didn't really know what to do for a few seconds. Nico slowly crawled into Percy's lap, straddling the green-eyed boy's waist. Percy's hands ran up Nico's legs, slowly up to the boy's thighs. He let out a moan when he kept feeling nothing but smooth skin.

Nico didn't have any underwear on.

Not that he would, since Percy had failed to remember to give him any, and the underwear Nico had on was soaking wet. Percy moved his hands to rest on Nico's hips, while the brown-eyed boy took a firm grip of Percy's hair. Percy let out another moan when Nico sucked on his bottom lip.

Nico's eyes were dark with lust when they pulled back. Percy's breathing was ragged, and he kept a firm grasp on Nico's hips as they sat there, staring at each other. It was like there was a fire burning inside of him, and only by devouring Nico entirely did he think that it would be satisfied. The pull that Percy constantly felt towards Nico seemed to be stronger, like it wanted them to be closer than they already were. And from the way Nico looked with his intense stare, messy hair, and kiss-swollen lips, Percy didn't think he really had any objection to complying with that wish.

Unfortunately, Nico was not on the same page.

The boy pushed on Percy's chest to keep the older boy from going in for more kisses. Trying to steady his breathing, Nico climbed off of Percy's lap. “Sorry,” he whispered.

Percy shook his head with a chuckle. “No need to sorry. That was...really good.” He grinned like an idiot. “I'm happy you came over.”

Nico frowned and partially turned away. “Because you were hoping for sex?”

Percy quickly realized how that had probably sounded and stood up. “No! That's not what I meant.” He rubbed the back of his neck when Nico glanced at him. “I mean, I'm sure I'd really enjoy that, but I just mean that I'm happy you're here in general. And it makes me happy that you thought about coming here.”

Nico seemed to relax. “Thanks for letting me stay.”

Percy sat back down and pulled Nico with him. The boy quietly let himself be pulled down and into Percy's lap. Percy pecked him on the cheek. “You're welcome to stay here whenever you want.” He frowned and wrapped his arms around Nico's waist. “But what happened? Did something happen at home?”

Nico's eyes grew dull and he squirmed out of Percy's grasp. He settled at the head of the bed, sliding under the covers. “I don't want to talk about it tonight,” the pale boy whispered. “I just... I'm just really tired right now. Can we just sleep right now?”

Percy gave a nod. He got up and turned off the light before returning to the bed. Sliding under the covers, he rolled to face Nico. He felt the bed shift next to him and then Nico was curled up next to him. In the darkness, Nico leaned in and Percy closed his eyes. Their lips met in a slow kiss. Percy slid an arm under Nico's back, pulling the other boy closer to him. Nico placed a hand on Percy's chest when the green-eyed boy slid his tongue into the other boy's mouth.

When Nico pulled back, Percy smiled to himself and let his head fall against the pillow. He let out a sigh of contentment as Nico settled against him. Perhaps tonight wasn't such a bad night after all.

\------------------------------------

Percy woke up when he felt the bed shift beside him. It took him a moment, but his mind finally remembered that someone else was sharing his bed. He groaned and rolled onto his side, cracking an eye open. He smiled at the sight in front of him.

Nico lay on his back, one of his hands up beside his head on the pillow. His lips were partially open, soft breaths escaping from the boy's pale lips. The rain had stopped and the sun filtered in to touch randomly along the boy's face and body. He looked so peaceful, Percy thought, like an angel.

Unable to help himself, Percy reached out to wrap his arms around the boy. The contact ended up waking the other boy up. Nico rubbed his eye and let out a yawn before looking at Percy. He groaned and rolled onto his side to face Percy. “Go back to sleep,” the brown-eyed boy mumbled, bringing a smile to Percy's lips.

Leaning in, Percy kissed the tip of Nico's nose. The boy wrinkled it and curled into Percy. The green-eyed boy pulled the shorter boy against him with a smile. Last night had probably been the best he had slept since his arrival in Aimes, and he hadn't even had a weird dream or nightmare. And, judging by the other boy's appearance, Percy could only assume Nico had slept fine as well. The circles under Nico's eyes were even less apparent.

Percy leaned in for a kiss, but Nico turned his head away with a groan. “Morning breath.” The boy sat up. “I think I'll go brush my-”

The taller of the two jerked the pale boy back down, causing him to fall on Percy's chest. “I don't care about your morning breath.” He smiled and rolled them over, situating himself between Nico's legs. The boy's pale hands reached up to rest against Percy's warm chest. “I still want to kiss you.”

Nico wrinkled his nose. “You still have morning breath.”

Percy rolled his eyes and leaned down. Nico let Percy kiss him this time. The shorter boy closed his eyes, his arms moving up to wrap around Percy's neck. Percy's shirt ended up on the floor somewhere along the way, and the green-eyed boy let Nico run his fingers along his stomach. Nico let out a gasp when Percy rolled his hips, only to find they were both experiencing the same morning problem.

A noise escaped from Nico's throat and he pushed gently on Percy's chest, though their lips still remained together. Reaching down with one hand, Nico removed one of Percy's hands that was trying to slip up the leg of the shorts Nico had on.

Percy chuckled and pulled away. “How did that get there?”

Nico rolled his eyes and rolled out from under Percy. Getting up, the boy stretched. Percy lay there for a moment, admiring the view. The fact that he had on Percy's shorts meant that the short were barely hanging on. Rolling to the edge of the bed, Percy wrapped his arms around Nico's waist and pulled the younger boy down to sit on the edge of the bed. Percy gently pressed his lips against some of the exposed skin of the boy's pale back.

“You're going to have to stop that,” said Nico.

Percy leaned up to press their lips together again. “What if I don't want to?”

Nico tugged on Percy's hair to end their kiss. He smirked down at Percy before straddling the older boy's hips. Percy's hands ran along the pale legs on either side of him until they rested on Nico's small hips. “Because,” Nico breathed out, grinding his hips against Percy, “if you don't, I won't be able to make us breakfast.”

Percy groaned and let his head fall against the pillow. “You're making this decision very hard.” His hands slid under the shirt Nico had on, caressing the boy's soft back. “I think I'd rather have you.”

Nico batted Percy's hands away with a grin before climbing off. “Tough, because I want breakfast.” Percy let out a groan and rolled over. “Grow up, you big baby.”

Percy rolled over as Nico walked out of the room. He yawned and sat up, scratching at his head. He couldn't think of a better way to wake up in the morning. Now if only he could convince Nico to come over on a regular basis to sleep with him.

The sound of bacon hitting a skillet instantly dissolved any leftover sleep Percy still felt. He shot out of bed and poked his head out the door. He could spot part of Nico moving around in the kitchen, though his back was turned to Percy.

“Get a shower,” Nico said without even turning around.

Percy's eyes widened a little as he crept back into his room. Okay, that was a little creepy. But he still did as Nico wished. He gathered up some comfortable clothes for the day before heading to the bathroom for a shower.

Once that was out of the way and he opened the door to the bathroom, Percy's nose was instantly greeted with the wonderful smell of pancakes. He padded his way down the hall. He tossed his shirt over his shoulder and walked up behind Nico, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy. Nico turned his head to glance up at Percy, and the older boy used it as an opportunity to press a brief kiss to Nico's lips.

As Nico worked on finishing breakfast, Percy leaned in and nuzzled against Nico's neck. And, to his great pleasure, Nico tilted his head to the side to give him better access. Percy's arms wrapped tighter around the pale boy as he trailed kisses along Nico's neck. Nico eventually let out a sigh.

“You should really pay attention, it might help you in class.”

Percy smiled against Nico's neck. “I am paying attention,” he mumbled.

He could practically feel Nico roll his eyes. “You should really take this serious.” But he moaned when Percy sucked gently on his skin. “You-”

Percy cut him off by tilting his head to the side and sealing their lips. Nico reached back to place a hand behind Percy's head. Nico's other hand dropped the spatula he had been holding to grasp the hand Percy had around Nico's waist.

Nico pulled away first, looking up at Percy in a way that only made Percy want to kiss him again. “You really need to stop doing that,” the brown-eyed boy whispered. Percy grinned at him. Nico cleared his throat and turned around, though Percy didn't move away. Nico pecked Percy on the lips before situating Percy in front of the stove. “You can do the next pancake. I want to see you flip it like a pro.”

Percy narrowed his eyes with a pout. Nico lifted the pan and deposited the pancake he had been making onto a plate with a few others. Pouring some mix for Percy, the younger boy took a step back to watch. Percy scrunched his lips as he split his time watching the pancake mix and the boy next to him. “I still have those dreams,” he finally admitted.

The brown-eyed boy quirked an eyebrow at him, but did not look that surprised. “It's nothing to worry about.” He shrugged. “They probably just need to run their course. Nothing I can do about them if they were put there.”

“Nothing?”

Nico gave a shrug. “I mean, if the haunting wasn't the cause of it, then they were put there separately. It's possible that Medea did both, though I fail to see why she would.” He shook his head. “She got irritated at me when I accused her of sending a spirit after you. She claimed that she had better things to do than haunt someone like you, but I still wouldn't put it past her.”

Percy frowned. “But why would she want me to have the dreams?”

“I don't know,” Nico said softly. He looked at his feet, crossing his arms. “I mean...” His brow furrowed. “No, that wouldn't make sense. Or maybe it does.” Percy quirked a brow. Nico no longer seemed to be talking to him. “He never sealed her away after that.”

“Nico?”

The boy looked up, like he had entirely forgotten Percy was still standing there. “Sorry. It's nothing. Maybe she just wants to freak you out.”

Percy frowned as he picked up the pan. Nico was hiding something from him. If it had been something else, Percy wouldn't feel as miffed about it, but this was something that involved him that Nico was refusing to tell him. He opened his mouth to say something about it as he went to flip the pancake, but the handle snapped.

Percy let out a yelp as the food and pan fell towards his feet. However, they stopped in the air and hovered before returning to the handle that was still in Percy's hand. The pan attached itself back to the handle and the pancake slowly hovered down until it was safely back in the pan. Nico rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

“You really do suck with cooking.”

“Shut up,” Percy mumbled, depositing the finished pancake onto the plate with the rest. Nico smirked and leaned in to press a quick kiss to Percy's cheek. But before Nico could pull away, Percy grabbed him by the waist and lifted the boy onto the counter. Sliding between Nico's legs, Percy leaned in to press their lips together in a quick kiss.

Nico turned his head to the side after a few second. “You really need to stop that.” He frowned down at Percy. “I don't want to go fast, and I'm still trying to decide if this is the best idea.”

Percy slowly nodded and rested his head against the boy's chest. Pulling back, Percy stared at the boy's angelic face for a moment. Nico gave him an odd look. Percy only smiled more before brushing some of Nico's hair out of his face. “Why do I feel so drawn to you?” He whispered.

Nico reached up to touch the hand that lingered against his cheek. “Mortals have been known to experience a state of euphoria around our kind.” His leg rubbed against Percy's side. “That's one of the lessons we have to learn. Mortals find us appealing...and sex with us is supposed to be nearly addictive.”

Percy grinned, but Nico put his hands to Percy's face. Percy pouted.

Nico rolled his eyes. “Don't get any ideas.”

Percy rubbed his neck. “What about other witches and warlocks?”

Nico eyed him funny for a brief moment. “Nothing unique, though some rituals can be so intense that they draw us to have sex with one another.” He rested his hands on the cabinets as he continued to watch Percy.

Percy gave a slow nod. “I do get this weird feeling around some of you, mainly Drew.”

Nico's lips tilted up in a smirk. “That's a little different. Drew has...a unique set of powers. Aphrodite and Piper do as well, though they are more controlled with their powers.” He frowned and ran a hand through Percy's hair. “Drew doesn't regard mortals as anything important, and she will often have them do her bidding. It's not really potent on us, not that she'd try it on us. But mortals have a very hard time resisting her requests.”

“You said that all of you possess some degree of each unique type of magic.” Percy reached up and touched Nico's chest. “Is that why I feel so drawn to you? Everything about you is intoxicating to me. I just want to be near you all the time.”

Nico leaned into Percy's touch when the hand brushed against his cheek. “No,” he whispered. “It's not the same. I haven't quite figured it out yet, but I feel it, too.” The brown-eyed boy shook his head with a sad look. “The shock and the intense burning is very confusing. I don't understand why they happen randomly.” He pressed his lips to Percy's palm. “I'll let you know when I have something concrete.”

Irritation seemed to boil up within him. It wasn't really fair that Nico was keeping this from him. He was just as much involved in whatever this was as Nico. So why couldn't Nico just try to help him understand? “Why can't you just give me a theory?” Percy said, a little angrier than he had intended.

Nico narrowed his eyes and pushed Percy's hand away. “You act like I hide everything from you. I've tried to accommodate you after you found out about us.” The kitchen seemed to darken around the boy. “I tried to help you the best I could, so you wouldn't freak out. I think I've been very open with you.”

“Just not about Jason,” Percy mumbled before he could stop himself.

Nico's eyes appeared much darker when Percy chanced a glance up at the boy. Briefly gripping the edge of the cabinet, Nico jumped off and stormed past Percy. He stopped in the living room, spinning around angrily. “I don't even understand why you feel the need to be jealous of him, when I don't even have a choice!”

Percy's expression softened and he took a few steps towards the boy. “Nico, I-”

“If anything, Jason's the one that doesn't have a chance! His jealousy is understandable. But yours? You're acting like a child!” Nico glared heatedly at the other boy, clenching his fists. “In case you've forgotten, Jason is bound by an oath to eventually marry my sister. Oaths mean something to us, we don't break them.” He shook his head at Percy. “You're being irrationally jealous.”

Percy's blood had boiled at Nico's talk of not breaking an oath. And before he could stop himself, he shouted back, “That didn't stop you from kissing him at the police station!”

There was a dead silence in the apartment as Nico glared over at Percy. The light from outside seemed nearly irrelevant. It was like it was being suffocated and driven away. Percy tried not to flinch when the apartment groaned a little. Nico's eyes were hidden now, but Percy could tell he was shaking. Out of rage or just upset, Percy did not know.

Nico finally looked up and everything went back to normal. His face was void of emotion as he stared blankly at the green-eyed boy. “I think I should go,” he whispered.

Percy's mouth fell open a little as Nico headed to the bedroom. “Nico-” His mouth failed him. He had screwed up. He groaned and gripped his hair, fighting off the urge to yell. Why couldn't he just keep his mouth shut?

Nico appeared back in the living room a moment later, dressed in the clothes he had on last night. He didn't even bother looking at Percy as he tied his shoes. Percy's shoulders slumped.

“Nico, I'm sorry,” Percy pleaded. “Please, don't go. I shouldn't have said that.”

“It's better if I go.” He stood up and gave Percy another dull look. “I'll talk to you later.” Percy frowned, looking like a kicked puppy as the boy opened the door and slipped outside. Right before the door shut, Nico stopped and looked at Percy one last time. His voice was calm now, but Percy hated how lifeless it sounded. “It wouldn't even matter if I did have a choice, because I'd still pick you.”

Percy found himself unable to move as the door shut. The sound had caused a pain to shoot directly to his heart, and the boy found himself flinching. He sat down on the couch, burying his face into his hands. Had he just ruined his chances with Nico?

His phone was still on the couch from where he had left it the night before. Percy frowned down at it before remembering what Luke had told him the day after he had found out about their families. Reaching down, Percy scooped up the phone and dialed the blond's number. After the fourth ring, Luke picked up.

“What can I do for you today, Percy?”

Standing up with a groan, Percy walked over to turn off the oven. “Luke,” Percy groaned, “I think I've screwed up with Nico.”

There was a loud rustling noise behind Percy and a piece of paper went flying past the green-eyed boy's head. He turned around to find Luke standing in the middle of his living room with the phone still to his ear. The blond let out a sigh and hung up, pocketing his phone.

Luke arched a brow at Percy. “What did you do?”

Percy couldn't help but let his shoulders slump. He gave Luke the short version about how Nico had stayed the night and they were in the middle of breakfast when they started fighting. During this time, Luke took notice of the pancakes and picked one up, biting off a piece every so often. Percy didn't really care, his appetite was long gone. He then explained about how he had brought up Jason, which has set Nico off.

Luke slowly blew out a breath. “Wow.” His forehead winkled as he leaned against the counter. “Well damn, Percy, you've gotten yourself into quite the mess.” He blinked up at the raven-haired boy. “What are you going to do?”

Percy flailed his arms. “That's what I called you for!”

“Oh.” Luke rested his chin on his palm. “Well, it's sort of a long story. Nico might hate me for telling you this, but I feel it'll help you understand what you've gotten yourself into. Don't worry, I'll take the heat.” He offered the boy a smile. “Let me start off by explaining that we don't come into our full powers until we reach puberty. But for us Firsts, it can be an overwhelming experience. It gets to the point where we can't even function for about a week because we are literally overwhelmed by our own powers. For Nico, he experienced a death-like coma for that time.

“Also, keep in mind that this happened just several months after his mother was murdered. Nico was in a very depressive state when this happened to him.” The blond rubbed the back of his neck. “We had zombies rising in all of our yards on most days. Jason and Nico were a lot closer back then, nearly inseparable.” He cleared his throat. “Anyways, when Nico woke up, he was still upset. Nico's powers are fueled by his emotions. Unfortunately, mine aren't, so I wasn't much help to him. However, Jason's worked with his emotions as well, and he tried to help Nico the best he could. They ended up doing a ritual, and well...some rituals just draw out intense feelings between the two people doing it.”

“Yeah,” Percy mumbled, having a hard time looking up. He figured he knew what this meant.

“I don't know what all went on between them that night,” Luke continued. “But I do know that something did happen.”

Percy let out a sigh. He knew he shouldn't feel bitter or jealous, but he was. It was irrational, he knew that. Percy hadn't even been in town when it had happened. Nico hadn't even know Percy existed back then, nor had Percy known of Nico's existence. It was also like he had not tried to do stuff with his old relationships either. Not that he had ever succeeded, but it still made him feel like crap for wishing he could have been Nico's first time. Not that it changed anything in the end. He still wanted Nico, and it didn't make Percy think any less of the guy.

Luke patted his arm. “Eventually, Zeus and Hades announced that Jason would be engaged to Medea. Obviously, it caused a lot of tension between Nico and Jason. It slowly drove them apart, and Nico eventually told Jason they couldn't go on seeing each other.” He let out a sigh. “Yes, Jason still wants Nico, and Nico does have a hard time not giving in to it, but nothing is going to really happen between them.” A smile appeared on the blond's lips. “If it helps, he's been trying really hard since you two started getting closer.”

“Thanks,” Percy mumbled.

“Nico wouldn't cheat on you, Percy, if you two did get together.” Luke stood up to his full height. Tilting his head to the side, he cocked a brow at the raven-haired boy. “You don't have anything to be jealous of, trust me. I know how Nico feels about you. You're fine.” He offered Percy a lopsided smile. “Just give him the rest of the day to cool off. But you should talk to him before Monday, so that neither of you ends up causing a scene in the middle of school.”

Percy gave a small nod. “Yeah, okay.” Green eyes flickered up to where the blond stood. “Thanks for telling me. I hope you don't get in too much trouble with him.”

Luke grinned. “As long as he's happy at the end of the day, it'll be worth it.”

\---------------------------------------------

True to his word, Percy gave Nico the day to cool off from their argument. He waited around near his phone the next morning, waiting for the other boy to possibly call him. When one never came, Percy went in search of the brown-eyed boy. However, it sort of dawned on him when he arrived at the old road that wandering around the homes of people that didn't know he knew their secret might be a bad idea. In the end, Percy had called Luke, who directed to the field they had been relaxing at on Friday afternoon.

It took Percy all of fifteen minutes to spot a black head of hair sticking out in the grass. Unfortunately, a black mass poked its head up. Percy paled as Cerberus started to growl at him. Nico turned his head, but didn't grab the dog as it bounded off towards Percy. Letting out a very manly yelp, Percy tried to run away. Not that he made it very far before his face hit the dirt.

Percy rolled over to find very large fangs in his face. “Nice doggie,” the green-eyed boy chuckled, attempting to shield himself with his hands.

A shadow was cast over Percy's face as Nico appeared above the giant dog. His dull eyes blinked at the terrified boy on the ground. “What are you doing out here?”

Percy flinched when the dog let out a loud bark. “Um, you know, just getting eaten.”

Letting out a sigh, Nico snapped his fingers. Cerberus stopped growling. The brown-eyed boy rested his hand on top of the dog's head. “Go on home, boy.” With a happy bark and wag of its tail, the beast leaped off of Percy and barreled into the woods.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Percy let his head fall into the grass with a groan. Well then, this was starting off well. When he sat up, he found that Nico was already sitting back in his original spot. Percy's shoulders slumped as he dragged himself off of the ground and trudged his way over to his crush.

Nico didn't look up when Percy sat down beside him. “What are you doing out here?”

“I was looking for you,” Percy whispered. He picked up a flower, ready to offer it to Nico.

The boy's dark eyes fell upon Percy and the flower died. “You found me. Now leave.”

Percy let out a sigh as he dropped the dead flower into the grass. “Nico, I'm sorry. I really am.” He shifted a little closer to the other boy, crossing his legs. “Just, please, talk to me. I don't like having you mad at me.”

“You don't have to apologize,” Nico mumbled, pulling up some grass. The boy stared at it until it shriveled up in his hand. Shaking his head, he tossed it into the wind. “I shouldn't have snapped like that.”

Pressing his luck, Percy scooted closer. He slowly reached out and took Nico's hand, rubbing his thumb against the boy's pale, soft skin. “I'm sorry you feel this way. I'm sorry you don't have a choice. You must feel trapped.”

The boy shook his head. “I feel trapped about a lot of things, Percy, but that's not what I meant.” He finally looked up and gave the green-eyed boy's hand a squeeze. “I meant what I said about still picking you. It's just hard sometimes, separating my own feelings from this pull I feel towards you.”

Percy didn't say anything. Instead, he reached out and pulled the other boy to him. Nico laid his head on the green-eyed boy's shoulder, and Percy pressed his lips to the pale boy's head. Perhaps there was still hope for them, as long as Percy didn't open up his mouth and ruin it all. Well, perhaps there wasn't any hope then.

Nico slowly pulled away, but kept his hand intertwined with Percy's. “There's a lot of reasons I'm hesitant to date you, Percy. At first, it was mostly to do with the differences between you. I'm a warlock and you're a mortal.”

“And?”

Nico's lips tilted down. He shook his head. “I don't think we should talk about that just yet.” He let out a sigh and looked into the woods. “That part's too complicated, and I'm still trying to figure out the best time and best way to tell you.”

Percy gave Nico a lopsided smile. “I'm sure it's not that big of a deal.”

Nico didn't seem to agree. The boy's dark gaze drifted back over to him. “Eventually, though it became about you only living here temporarily. I figured you'd just leave at the end of the year, and then I'd never see you again. I thought you'd just go back to California and get back together with the guy you left behind.” He slowly pulled his hand away from Percy. “I don't really want to be just a passing phase.”

He wanted to tell Nico that wasn't true. Percy didn't see Nico as a passing phase. He wanted to be with Nico, and the longer he stayed here, the stronger that feeling became. When he was with Nico, Percy felt like he was finally at home. He felt like he was where he was meant to be. And there were times where Percy started to realize that he liked Nico more than Alabaster. Alabaster was fun and they got along very well, but there was just something different about Nico. Perhaps this was what it felt like on Nico's end with Jason.

This scared him the most, because he had known Alabaster for far longer than he had known Nico. And, yet, the choice was hardly a contest. He had never tried this hard to get together with Alabaster. Or any of his past relationships, in all honesty. If any of them had been as persistent as Nico had been at turning him down, Percy felt certain that he would have given up. He felt like he was on fire just from a single touch. Their kisses were intoxicating, and he had an impossible time thinking when they were in close vicinity to each other.

Percy pulled up some grass with a frown. “You know, I never put much stock into love at first sight, but I think I came close with you.”

Nico chuckled, which hurt Percy's feeling a bit. But boy smiled at him fondly and shook his head. “When it comes to magic, you should never doubt anything being possible.”

“Well,” Percy began, “I wish I could have grown up here. I'd like to have known you longer, all of you.”

Nico's smile fell and he shook his head again. “You don't,” Nico whispered, “you really don't.”

He wanted to argue that he would have dealt with the town, but Percy figured it was best if he didn't try to argue after they had just made up. He laid down on the ground, pulling the other boy down with him. Nico let out a sigh as he rested his head on Percy's chest, his hand trailing along a spot around Percy's side where the green-eyed boy's shirt had slipped up to expose some skin.

“Here's some questions you might can answer,” Percy mumbled, rubbing Nico's back.

The boy tilted his head up. “What's that?”

“What's the deal with your dog?”

That made Nico laugh, and it was like music to Percy's ears. “Oh. He's a familiar.”

Percy frowned and glanced down at the boy. “I thought that was just cats.”

“No.” Nico shook his head. “There are several animals associated with witchcraft. Each of them can classify as a familiar. But Cerberus is special. He's a hellhound.”

“A what?” Percy's eyes widened as he tried not to knock the shorter boy off of him from nearly jerking up.

Nico rolled his eyes and curled into the spot where Percy's arm met his shoulder. “He's very obedient, calm down.”

“What is it, thought?”

“Oh.” Nico blinked, his head coming to rest on Percy's stomach. “A hellhound can shift between our world and the afterlife. They can act as guides for spirits to the afterlife, or they can drag an unwilling spirit back to our domain. We keep Cerberus around to keep spirits in line.”

Percy's fingers began to run through Nico's hair. “He seems to listen pretty well.”

“Because he can listen,” Nico mumbled. “He completely understands what we say. Why do you think I shut the door last weekend when he was laying in the hallway? I didn't need him reporting to my father, I already have enough problems keeping things private in that house.”

“Wait.” Percy made the timeout symbol. “You said he can tell your father things?”

Percy felt Nico nod against him. “Yeah? Anyone connected to death can understand him.” He grinned at the pale look on the taller boy's face. “If it helps, he can also change his size and form. You've only seen him in his disguise.”

Percy let out a silent groan. “He gets bigger?” He asked meekly. He had to clear his throat to keep from squeaking. “Like what are we talking?”

“Um, well,” Nico chuckled. “His teeth can get longer, he is about the size of me, and his eyes will grow red.” He patted Percy's stomach. “Oh, and he can shadow travel like I can. Except think bigger, like anywhere on the planet.”

Suddenly, Percy didn't feel so well. He made a mental note to never hurt Nico, because he feared that Hades would send that dog to rip out Percy's soul and drag it back to the terrifying father, who would probably torture Percy for the rest of the man's days.

Nico let out a heavy sigh, which brought Percy back to the event at hand. “I suppose I should just tell you about the house as well, while we're at it.” He sat up and looked down at Percy. “So, the reason I told you not to say anything in the house was because we sort of have a lot of spirits that reside there.”

Percy sat up, his brow furrowed. “Like...permanently?”

Nico slowly nodded. “I didn't really want them reporting anything to my father.” He chewed on his lip as he watched Percy. “And, well, there's some in the basement that I hope you never have to encounter.”

“Why do you keep them in the house?” Percy hissed.

Nico pursed his lips, causing Percy to regret his tone. “It wasn't my choosing. It's just a long story, something that happened a very long time ago. Um, like around the Civil War.”

Percy moved closer to the boy, pulling Nico to his back against the green-eyed boy's chest. “Can they hurt people?”

Nico was quiet. Percy looked down to find the boy chewing on his lip. “They can't physically touch normal people, and that includes witches and warlocks.” Something about the way Nico said that didn't sit right with Percy. “But they can, you know, knock things over and hurt people that way. My father keeps the bad ones sealed in the basement, though.”

Percy reached a hand up to cup Nico's cheek. Tilting the boy's head, the green-eyed boy pressed their lips together. Nico sighed into the kiss, his body physically relaxing into Percy's chest. With a smile on his face, Percy laid them in the grass, letting Nico curl up against him. It was very quiet, the only sound that could be heard being a few birds. If only they could have stayed like that forever.

But Nico eventually told Percy he had to leave. “Lessons,” he said, pecking Percy on the cheek.

Percy grabbed his hand before he could run off. “When can I see you again?”

Nico smirked. “At school, duh.” He stuck out his tongue as he pulled away from Percy, jogging towards the border of the woods.

“You know what I meant!” Percy called out to him.

Nico stopped at the border of the woods and waved at Percy. “If you're lucky, I might come and stay with you again this week.”

Percy smiled as the boy vanished into the woods. Nico had said this week, not the weekend. Seeing Nico's face in the morning might actually make waking up for school bearable. Stretching his arms above his head, Percy jumped to his feet and headed towards the road.

Later that night, Percy found himself in another moment from the past. Kronos walked up the stairs of the house that now belonged to Nico. His clothes were heavily tattered, Percy noted, as he pushed open the door. Kronos instantly frowned.

There was a lot of things broken in the house, ranging from pictures to plates. It even looked like some of the curtains had caught fire. He stepped over a broken potted plant and made his way towards the sound of glass breaking.

Tartarus had just sat down in a chair when Kronos stepped into the dining room. The boy's brown eyes flickered up with a dark look. Something was different about Tartarus now, though. His eyes were darker, his skin paler. Dark bruises trailed down his right arm. His face was dirty and his hair was cut shorter than he had kept it back in Salem.

He sighed at the sight of Kronos. “I was beginning to wonder if you were even still alive.”

Kronos frowned as a woman swept some broken shards of glass from the floor in the kitchen. “What happened?”

“What do you think happened?” Tartarus sat back in his chair, slumping down. “You weren't here, things got destroyed. You should just be lucky your mother let us drive them off.” His eyes seemed hollow somehow as he stared up at Kronos.

It was then that Kronos took notice of blood dripping onto the table. He shot forward and grabbed Tartarus's hand, which was clutching a piece of glass. Tartarus let out a disturbing chuckle as Kronos took the piece of glass from him. Silver liquid dripped off the end of the shard, dissolving into the table.

Kronos's eyes flared with anger. “How did this happen? I thought you were going to take care of it?” Hissing, the boy's eyes began to turn gold. “You know there isn't a second that I can give you.”

Kronos looked around as ghostly hands attempted to claw their way out of the walls of the dining room. His brow furrowed as he turned back to the brown-eyed boy at the table. “Maybe you should have thought about that before you left all of us,” Tartarus hissed.

“I wanted to help!”

“You helped the very people that came here and burned most of the land! You helped the people that tried to rape Venus!” The boy's eyes dissolved into dark voids. “You weren't here when-” Tartarus hesitated, clenching his fists. “When we needed you.”

“I didn't know they would do what they did!” Kronos yelled back. He smashed the shard of the vial against the ground. “So, what, you smashed it to get back at me?”

“No,” Tartarus whispered. He turned away, though the hands had yet to stop their attempts of getting out of the walls. “It was Circe.”

Kronos narrowed his eyes. “Circe died back in Salem.”

A pure rage covered Tartarus's face as he whirled around to face Kronos. “I know! Don't think I've forgotten!” To Kronos's surprise, Tartarus punched him square in the jaw. “It was your fault she died. It all started because you broke your oath, it was all doomed from there.” He let out a cold laugh as Kronos massaged his jaw. “We doomed our own coven, and now we all just have to live with this curse.”

Kronos frowned and reached out, gripping Tartarus by the chin. He peered at the boy's face, though the brown-eyed boy struggled to pull away. “What happened to you, Taratarus?”

The brown-eyed boy knocked the hand away. He was silent, his eyes hidden behind his black bangs. A manic grin crept onto the boy's pale lips. “I did it,” he whispered.

Kronos's brow furrowed. “What have you done?”

Still grinning, Tartarus looked up, revealing the dark glint in his eyes. “What no one ever could. I achieve the impossible while you were gone, Kronos.” He motioned around the house, seemingly in a better mood. “I proved your mother right. I was more powerful than my father, and now his soul rots for eternity.”

“Tartarus,” Kronos hissed, glancing towards the kitchen. “What happened to the vial? You said Circe broke it. How?”

The other boy was silent, swaying slightly. His smile slowly melted away until a light frown marred his face. Kronos took a step forward.

Kronos was shaking now, fury in his eyes. “How could you bring her back?” He growled. His eyes blazed their golden color. “You brought her back, and she repaid you by breaking the thing I asked you to protect!” He shook his head at the dark look that he found in Tartarus's eyes. “What happened to you, Tartarus?” He asked more softly. “What happened to my best friend? What happened to the happy boy from Salem?”

The shadows on the floor beside Tartarus began to swirl and rise from the wood. Red eyes appeared in the darkness and Tartarus reached out to touch the shadows. Kronos frowned as the shadows took form and a large dog now sat beside Tartarus. The boy's pale hand rested on its head, still staring blankly at Kronos.

The boy's brown orbs dissolved into blackness. Tartarus flicked his hand upward, causing shadows to ensnare Kronos. They slowly pulled him down into the floor, while Tartarus just stood there and watched. The boy's next words caused Kronos's eyes to widen.

“He's dead.”

Percy shot up when he felt like he was being suffocated from the darkness. But the second he came to, Percy was shoved up against a stone wall. Flinching, Percy glanced around him. He was in the cemetery. But the worst part was who was in front of him.

“What are you doing here?” Medea yelled in his face.

“I don't know,” Percy answered honestly. That didn't seem to help him any.

The girl did not loosen her grip on Percy's shirt. But something caught his eye. Glancing down, Percy caught sight of a red shimmer in the girl's sleeve. It took his groggy mind a few moments to realize what it was.

His brow furrowed. “Why do you have Nico's necklace?”

Medea shoved him away, glaring angrily at him. “Don't try to change the subject. You're the one intruding here.” She crossed her arms, making sure that the necklace was out of sight. “You need to leave.”

Percy didn't say anything else. He let her lead him towards the gate, though he kept glancing down at her sleeve. He knew that was Nico's necklace, but what would she want with it? And why was she out in the cemetery in the middle of the night with it?

As they neared the gate, Percy stopped when he caught sight of movement from the corner of his eye. Turning his head, Percy barely saw a shadowy figure drift out from behind the mausoleum. His face paled as it went straight through the iron fence. Medea shoved his back as the figure disappeared into the woods and Percy lost sight of it. Something was definitely not right here.


	13. The Forgotten Family

“This had better be important,” Nico said as he entered Percy's apartment Monday night. Percy had caught him after class earlier that day and told him that he needed to talk to Nico about something important. Nico had quickly said that it better not be Percy asking him out. Percy managed to draw his interest by telling the boy that it concerned his sister.

Percy sighed and shut the door. “I'm glad to see you, too.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Would a kiss make you feel better?”

Perking up, Percy nodded. “It couldn't hurt.”

Nico smirked and leaned in towards the older boy. Percy closed his eyes when Nico was mere inches from his face. “Just tell me what it is you saw,” Nico grumbled, flicking Percy's forehead. The green-eyed boy frowned as Nico walked over and sat down on the couch. Nico rolled his eyes again. “We can kiss afterward, just tell me what is so important.”

Rubbing his head, Percy walked over to stand in front of Nico. “So, I was in the cemetery last night, and-”

“Wait, why were you in the cemetery?”

Percy let out a sigh. “Can you just focus?” But Nico just looked at him intently. “Your sister had your amulet.” Nico frowned and pulled the red medallion from under his shirt. “Yeah, that one. She was in the cemetery in it.”

It seemed clear that Nico's interest had been ensnared by the furrowing of his brow. He mumbled something under his breath before getting off the couch. Percy watched as Nico paced around him for a moment. After getting a little dizzy, Percy reached out to stop the shorter boy.

“So, what would she want with your amulet?” Percy asked. He let go of the other boy, who was still gripping the chain of his necklace. “I'm guessing she can't have one?”

Nico quickly shook his head. He frowned down at his amulet. “No, only the Head of House and First in each family is allowed to carry one.” He said something else under his breath, but Percy failed to catch it. Nico shook his head again. “That doesn't make any sense. If she wanted anything out of there, she could have easily asked me or Father.”

Well then, that pretty much answered Percy's curiosity. There was definitely something more than dead bodies in that mausoleum. But now was not the time to press Nico about that, not when there were more important matters at hand. Though, it also appeared like Nico wasn't wanting to clue Percy in on his theories.

Percy let out a sigh. He knew he couldn't expect Nico and the others to tell him everything, but it still stung a little. But, really, what help could he even be to these people? If magic was involved in this, Percy would probably be useless.

At the sound of a zipper, Percy snapped back to reality. He quickly realized that Nico was working his way out of his pants. “Wh-what are you doing?” Percy fumbled.

Nico quirked a brow at him. “I mean, if you don't want me to stay over, I can just go back home.”

Shaking his head, Percy cleared his throat. “No, of course you can stay here.” He licked his lips as Nico's jeans hit the floor. The boy stepped out of them and stretched, which gave Percy a good view of Nico's underwear as the boy's shirt slid up.

Unable to stop himself, Percy shot forward and eliminated the space between them. Nico nearly fell backwards, but Percy caught him. Nico chuckled into their kiss, but wrapped his arms around Percy's neck, letting the older boy carry him towards the bedroom.

Percy gently put Nico down on the bed. The boy smiled up at him. “You know,” Nico began, running his fingers through Percy's black locks, “I'm going to have to stop you if you keep doing this. I might be able to turn you down whenever you decide to grow the balls to ask me out.”

Percy perked up at that. “Is that your way of saying you want me to ask you out?” Nico just shrugged. “Well, do you want to go out with me?”

“Nope.” Nico playfully stuck out his tongue, wrapping his arms around Percy's neck.

The green-eyed boy pouted down at the pale boy beneath. “Why not?”

“Because you'll just move back to California.”

Percy's fingers trailed underneath Nico's shirt. “You could always come with me.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “I have another year after you graduate. Plus, I have to stay here.”

“Forever?”

Nico hummed, running his hands down Percy's chest. The touch sent a fire through Percy's body. “Well, I'm free to go and see the world for a few years, yes. However, I am expected to live here once that time is over.”

Leaning down, Percy pressed his lips to Nico's forehead. “What if I don't want to be away from you?”

Nico's shoulders slumped. He looked up at Percy with a frown. “You shouldn't say things like that, Percy.” His head rolled to the side. “We've only known each other for a few months, you know.”

Percy pressed another kiss to Nico's neck. “But I feel like I've known you for much longer.”

The younger boy hummed again, biting down on his lips. “I know,” he said softly. He grabbed Percy's face and pulled the green-eyed boy down for another kiss. “I'm finding it harder to stay away from you, and it kind of scares me.”

Percy's fingers slid out until they were intertwined with Nico's thin ones. The boy's skin was cold, yet it practically burned Percy to touch. “I'm not out to hurt you,” Percy whispered. Nico kissed him again. Unfortunately, Percy's mind seemed to want to act on its own. It brought Percy back to his conversation with Luke the other day, and a sense of jealousy was instilled in the green-eyed boy again. He just didn't want to be direct with it. “So, have you ever...”

Nico quirked a brow at him. “Had sex?” Percy gave a brief nod. Nico smirked. “Have you?”

Percy's face heated up. “N-no,” he fumbled. Nico only grinned more. “So, like, those rituals you were talking about, did you ever do...one of them...with anyone else?”

The boy's pale lips thinned as he narrowed his eyes. Percy instantly grew pale. Oh no, Percy thought, he really should have just kept his jealous questions to himself. It really was none of his business. Nico rolled his eyes and pushed Percy off of him, mumbling about how that had killed the mood. Percy sat up with fear in his eyes. Was Nico going to leave again? He sat there, staring like a kicked puppy, as Nico just sort of stood at the edge of the bed.

Eventually, Nico shook his head with a sigh. “We never went all the way.” It was calm, which relieved Percy a little. Nico didn't appear to be angry with him. “We just...did stuff.” His lips tilted down as he turned to face Percy again. “I trust you can feel in the dots.” He reached out and patted Percy on the head. “You can stop worrying your pretty little head over it. I'm still the pure little virgin for you to ravage.”

Percy's face heated up as Nico rolled his eyes. He felt like a pig at the moment. “I...” His shoulders slumped. “I didn't mean it like that, I promise. I didn't mean to sound sexist.”

“Well, technically I'm a guy, so I don't think it counts as sexist.”

Percy pouted at the other boy. “You know what I mean. It feels like I'm implying that I can do whatever I want, but you have to be chaste.”

“Wow, such a smart word there, Perseus, I'm impressed.” Nico grinned when Percy pouted at him again. He chuckled and sat down beside Percy on the bed. “Relax, I'm just messing around with you.” He pecked Percy on the cheek. “If I had wanted to have sex, I would have. It was my choice not to do it, I wasn't ready.” He patted the other boy on the cheek. “But, yes, if you tried to get upset if I had actually had sex, we'd have a problem.”

“Sorry,” Percy mumbled. He smiled sheepishly at the other boy. “I wasn't here, so I don't really need to be jealous.”

Nico let out a sigh. “Percy, you really don't have anything to be jealous of, trust me. If you were wondering, Jason and I haven't kissed since the night at the police station. At your party, I told him I wanted us to just be friends. That's why we were outside talking. Yes, he was a little hurt, but he's also not going to try sabotaging a relationship I'm in. He let me date Mitchell without any trouble.” The boy tapped a finger to his lips. “Though, he did punch Mitchell after we broke up, but that's for other reasons.”

Great, Percy thought bitterly, he had forgotten that Mitchell had actually dated Nico. With a groan, Percy fell back on his bed. What was wrong with him? He had never been jealous like this with any of his past relationships.

Percy's mind was put at ease for the moment when Nico placed his head on the older boy's chest. Humming to himself, Nico turned off the lights. The two shifted under the covers and Percy smiled as Nico curled up against him. He really wished he could fall asleep like this every night.

Tonight, Percy found that his dream decided to take him back to Salem. He knew it was Salem by the way everyone dressed in their Puritan clothing. It also was obvious from the fact that Circe was standing in the room, and Kronos still had his ponytail. Tartarus's father was speaking with Gaea, while Kronos and Circe stood a few steps away. Tartarus, however, stood in the corner. The boy did not look pleased by what was going on, something that Kronos seemed to have picked up on. But the boy was nowhere near as frightening as he had been in Percy's last dream. He seemed more alive, yet sad.

“Then we have an agreement?” The man asked. Gaea did not seem pleased as she nodded and shook the man's hand. Her eyes flickered over to her son. “Then it is is settled, we shall join our houses through the marriage of my daughter and your son.”

“Tis a happy day indeed,” Gaea replied, though it was obvious she did not agree with what she had just said. She held out her hand towards Kronos and Circe. Kronos hesitated, while Circe eagerly moved forward to give her hand to the woman.

Gaea pricked the girl's finger with a needle. Kronos was looking over at Tartarus when the adults looked over at him. “Kronos,” Tartarus's father snapped. Gaea seemed even more irritated.

Reluctantly, Kronos moved forward and offered his hand out to his mother. She pricked his finger and the two teenagers faced each other. Circe held out her finger and Kronos did the same. Once their fingers were pressed together, their blood began to swirl around their hands until it formed a cuff that encircled both of their wrists. The two intertwined their fingers and the blood dissolved into their skin.

Tartarus's father seemed pleased. He held his head up, while his son glared heatedly at him. “Then it is done. They have their oath.”

Without saying anything, Tartarus stormed out of the house. Gaea shook her head with a sigh. Circe watched her brother leave with concern. Her father, however, didn't seem concerned at all. The man reminded Percy a lot of what Tartarus had seemed like in his last dream.

Kronos released Circe's hand. Bowing to the girl, he said, “I'll go check on him.”

Circe nodded as Kronos jogged out the door. Kronos spotted Tartarus heading towards their family barn. Pursing his lips, Kronos took off after his friend. By the time he got to the barn, the other boy was already pacing fiercely inside.

When he noticed Kronos standing there, Tartarus stopped and leaned against one of the posts that held the barn up. He frowned. “What dost thou want?”

“Please, do not be this way,” Kronos pleaded. His body relaxed as he took a few steps further into the barn. “I did not have a choice.”

“There is always a choice, Kronos.”

The older boy's eyes shined golden in the low lit barn. His lips tilted down with a few more steps towards the other boy. “Your father is still angry, he's the one that suggested it.”

“Your mother should have never said what she did!” Tartarus snapped. Kronos blinked in surprise as the boy wrenched his eyes shut, shaking. “My father cannot even look at me anymore. He gets angry at the very sight of me. She would have had me over him, and wouldn't even consider my sister.”

Kronos frowned. “It does not make my mother's words untrue.” Reaching out, the older boy grabbed Tartarus's wrist. “This is our coven, and my mother simply wishes to build the strongest that will ever live. One that can protect all of us.” Leaning forward, Kronos pressed their foreheads together. “You were better suited than he is.”

Tartarus's shoulders slumped. Kronos pulled back and released his friend's wrist. There was a long silence between the two boys in the barn. Neither looked at the other during this time, though. Reaching up, Kronos rubbed the back of his neck. It was him that spoke first.

“I do not love her,” he whispered.

That caused the di Angelo boy to snort. “Obviously.”

Kronos moved closer and Tartarus blinked up at him curiously. Kronos's pale hand reached out and brushed against the tan boy's cheek. “Because my heart already belongs to another.”

With wide eyes from Tartarus, Kronos leaned in and sealed the distance between them. Tartarus was pressed up against the post, and the boy's tan hand reached back to help support himself as Kronos slid his tongue into the other boy's mouth. With his other hand, Tartarus wrapped an arm around Kronos, while his friend slid a knee between his legs.

The two finally separated to catch their breath. Tartarus grinned wickedly and shook his head. “Can't even go a few minutes without breaking your oath, can you?” Slowly letting out a breath, the tan boy pushed Kronos away. “She's still my sister, though.”

Kronos watched the other boy's lips intently, slowly brushing his hand against Tartarus's cheek. “For you, I would move the universe itself for us to be together.”

Percy's dream ripped him away to a less happy place. Ever since he had arrived in Aimes, his dreams about his parents' deaths had been nearly nonexistent. But here he stood, at his mother's side after watching his father get shot in the head. Percy let out a scream and felt the sharp pain of the bullet hitting him in the chest.

When his eyes snapped open, Percy found his mother's rotting corpse next to him. Her eyes snapped open and she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. “Percy!” She wailed at him.

“Percy!”

Percy's eyes snapped open, his breathing beyond ragged. Sweat covered his body as he realized it had been Nico calling his name. The boy hovered over him, shaking Percy's shoulders gently. The green-eyed boy's vision focused onto Nico's angelic face, which was riddled with concern. Percy slid up in bed, the covers falling from his drenched torso. Nico's shoulders relaxed at seeing him awake, but he chose not to say anything as Percy tried to calm down.

“You okay?” Nico whispered after nearly a minute.

Percy nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat. He managed to catch himself before he started scratching this time. Burying his face in his palms, Percy pulled his legs up to his chest. “Just a bad dream.”

Nico gave a nod. “Your parents?” Percy's nerves slowly calmed when Nico reached out and took his hand, giving it a squeeze. “It must have been hard, watching them die.” He leaned against Percy's shoulder. “Do you need to talk about it?”

Letting out a breath, Percy shrugged. “I don't know. Nothing to really talk about.” He looked at the boy next to him, who was still staring at him in concern. “I had to...go to therapy for a long time after it happened. I don't think it really helped.”

Percy wrapped his arm around Nico as the boy curled up against his side. Nico let out a breath. “I miss my mother. But my father did a good job looking after us.” He looked up at Percy with his dark eyes. “I couldn't imagine what it must have been like to lose both of my parents.”

A sharp pain traveled through his chest. Percy lowered his head. He really didn't want to go to school today, but he knew he had to. “It wasn't the best way to start off my high school experience.” He gave a dry laugh. “But, I mean, I guess ending it wasn't expected to go much better. I thought I'd hate it this year, moving to a new town and not having anyone I know. I haven't really felt like I belonged anywhere since my parents died.”

“I'm sorry,” Nico whispered. He intertwined their fingers, which drew Percy's attention. Leaning his head back, Nico pressed their lips together in an innocent kiss.

All too soon, their kisses became longer and deeper. Percy reached up to cup Nico's pale face gently. He rolled on top of the other boy, who eagerly wrapped his arms around Percy's neck. The green-eyed boy's hand slid under Nico's shirt as his tongue explored the brown-eyed boy's mouth.

A moan escaped Nico's lips as Percy's other hand traveled underneath the leg of his boxer-briefs. Percy ran his fingers in a circle on Nico's hip, enjoying the cool, smooth skin he found there. Their lips broke apart and Percy leaned in to attack Nico's neck. The boy gasped and rolled his head to the side, his fingers curling in Percy's hair. Percy's fingers slid along Nico's inner-thigh. Nico's back arched off the bed as Percy's hand neared his crotch.

Both boys let out a yelp as the bed hit the floor with a loud crack. Nico was stunned, frozen where he lay beneath Percy. The older boy sat up and ran a hand through his hair. He could feel his weight slowly pulling him towards the foot of the bed, where the legs were now apparently broken.

With wide eyes, he turned back to Nico. “Were we levitating?”

“I...guess,” Nico replied, his brow furrowing as he sat up. He climbed out of bed and looked down at where the legs of the bed were broken.

After the shock finally wore off, Percy let out a laugh, falling back on the bed. Nico gave him a strange look. Running a hand down his chest, Percy wiped some leftover sweat off. “I must be pretty good, if I got you to lose control of your powers like that.”

Nico was silent. He looked from the bed to Percy for a moment, his brow heavily furrowed. The boy rose back to his feet, chewing on his lip. Percy grew concerned that the boy was going to draw blood. He watched as Nico ran a hand through his hair, sitting back down on the bed and mumbling rapidly under his breath.

Crawling across the bed, Percy reached out for Nico. “What's wrong?”

Nico jumped a little. “It's...nothing. I-” He searched Percy's face for something. “I need to think.” He shook his head. “I'm probably wrong, it's probably nothing.” Clearing his throat, the boy stood up. “We'll talk after school, but I doubt it's anything to worry about.”

Nico walked out of the bedroom, leaving a very confused Percy behind. From the bathroom, Percy could hearing Nico muttering something about, “Didn't have a child.” He blinked and crawled out of bed.

Percy let out a sigh when the shower turned on. He poked his head into the hallway, where he found that the bathroom door was still open. Walking down the hall, Percy poked his head inside. Nico was already out of his clothes and in the shower. The curtain prevented Percy from seeing anything, but he still felt awkward about being in the bathroom with a showering Nico. It was arousing as well, but Percy didn't think Nico would let him join the shower.

After brushing his teeth, Percy leaned against the sink. “You know, I could always help you wash off.”

“If you try, you'll find a dead corpse in your bed for the rest of your life, Percy Jackson.”

Percy found himself grinning. The shower finally turned off and Nico's pale hand reached out to grab a blue towel that Percy kept nearby. The green-eyed boy's cheeks turned a bright shade of pink as Nico emerged in nothing but said towel. He licked his lips as he raked his eyes across Nico's wet skin. He couldn't stop himself from taking the few steps over to the other boy and pressing a kiss to Nico's wet lips.

Nico batted his hand away when he felt it reaching for the towel. “No.” He narrowed his eyes at the taller boy. “You need to get a shower so we can go to school. I'll drive us.”

But Percy found it very hard to take his eyes off of Nico's body. Watching the droplets of water slowly slide off of Nico's pale shoulders and chest was like a drug. It was so intense that Percy could have sworn he felt it sliding across the other boy's flesh. Without saying a word, Percy's eyes dilated and he leaned in for another kiss.

Nico batted him away after a few seconds. His lips were partially swollen as he looked up at Percy with hazy eyes. It made Percy want him all the more. “Shower. Now,” Nico panted out.

Taking a step back, Percy took in a deep breath. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

Nico cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. “It's not that I don't want to, it's just that this pull between us is becoming more potent. This is why it scares me.” He looked up at Percy from behind his long lashes. “I do like you, Percy, and I would be happy just laying in bed watching a movie with you.” The boy placed Percy's hand over his heart. “It's literally like there's something tugging at my heart, and I think you feel the same on your end.” Percy gave a nod of confirmation. “I can't stop thinking about you anymore when I'm not with you.”

Percy glanced down to where his hand rested over Nico's heart. “I know. I can be as close as we are now, and I just want to be closer to you.” He shook his head. “I've never felt something this intense. Is this what you were talking about the other day?”

Nico slowly shook his head. “I wouldn't be affected, if that were the case. It's like we're...” Percy watched as the boy's brow furrowed, like he might have realized something missing. “Like we're intertwined.” Nico's dark eyes slowly shifted from side to side, his lips partially open.

“Nico?”

The boy shook his head, blinking up at Percy. “What? Sorry, it's nothing.” He took a step back and motioned to the shower. “You need to get a shower, so we're not late for school.”

Percy grumbled as he turned the shower back on. “You know, it would have been faster if we had just showered together.”

Nico stuck his head back in the bathroom to give Percy a disbelieving look. “You're not a very good liar, Percy Jackson. Knowing you, we'd probably be very late to school.”

Percy grinned as Nico shut the door.

The two got a few raised eyebrows when they walked into school together, including from the coven group. Luke, however, seemed to be attempting to contain his excitement. Annabeth shot him an annoyed look as she read a very thick book next to him.

“Are you two finally together?” Luke asked in such a rush that Percy was barely able to process it.

Nico rolled his eyes. “I have not had any coffee today.”

“Oh.” Luke slowly slid down in his chair, which made Annabeth and Thalia cackle. “Shut up,” the blond grumbled at the two girls.

Thalia shook her head. “He has you whipped, and you're not even dating him!” She laughed.

When the bell rang, Nico pulled Jason off to the side. Percy didn't find himself as jealous, but he was still concerned. Jason kept looking over at him, and whatever Nico was telling him seemed to be very serious. From the way Jason looked at Percy, the green-eyed boy thought they might have discovered he had the plague. Whatever it was, Jason shook his head and Nico shrugged in response.

They eventually separated and Nico headed in Percy's direction. He quirked a brow at the older boy. “Shouldn't you get to class?”

Percy smiled brightly. “I thought I'd walk you to class.” He winked when Nico rolled his eyes. “So, what was that about?”

“Nothing.” Nico shook his head. “It's nothing. I'll tell you after school.”

Nico stopped at his locker to drop off and pick up some books before class. He said that Percy didn't actually have to walk him the entire way to his classroom, but Percy insisted. And Percy was glad that he did.

On the way, they ended up bumping into Dylan and a few other guys from the football team. “Shouldn't you be hiding from the sun somewhere?” Dylan said with an irritating grin.

Nico rolled his eyes. “That's vampires, idiot.”

“You're pale like one,” one of the other football kids added.

Another grinned. “Yeah, maybe we should put a cross to your forehead to find out.”

Percy wanted to argue, but Nico grabbed his arm and walked by the idiots. “Yeah, like you probably did to Connor.”

“Kid deserved it,” Dylan sneered. He turned around with a glare at seeing Nico just walk by him. “Like that bitch mother of yours deserved it.”

Nico stopped dead in his tracks. His hand dropped from Percy's arm, his head slowly turning to glare at the jock behind them. “You are an idiot!” The boy snarled. “If I'm so evil, if I'm the devil, you're an idiot for making that comment. If I were evil, you'd be dead!”

Before Percy could act, Dylan shoved Nico up against the lockers. “Well, looks like Satan has forsaken you then.” He smirked as his friends laughed. Looking around, he took a step closer to Nico. “And your friends aren't here to help you out.” His eyes flickered up to Percy. “Unless...you're going to come to his rescue, Jackson. Khione already wrote you off as a lost cause, so I wouldn't advise it if you want to salvage your reputation.”

Percy balled up his fists and took a step forward. “Percy, don't!” Nico said, pushing himself up.

Dylan raised his foot and kicked Nico in the side, sending the small boy back to the floor. A deep anger boiled inside Percy as he glared at the jock in front of him. If that kid didn't move his foot from Nico's side, he was going to break the guy's leg. He didn't care if Dylan did have his friends with him.

Nico winced as he held his side. Dylan crouched down in front of Nico. “What's wrong? Does the little baby want his mommie?” Another smirk appeared on the guy's lips.

Shut up. Percy clenched his fists. He wanted the guy to shut up and stop speaking. Dylan's voice was becoming irritating to listen to, and he wanted to get the asshole as far away from Nico as possible. But the guy kept going.

“Well, she's dead.” Dylan stood up and laughed, shoving Nico back down with his foot. “Dead. Dead and burned like the witch that she was.”

Shut up!

Dylan began to cough, which slowly turned into choking. His face turned red and then nearly purple. His friends gathered around him, while other kids in the hall slowly gathered around as well. The jock clutched his throat, still in a coughing fit. It slowly became gagging and the crowd fell silent. With one, heavy dry heave, Dylan bent over and coughed a few times.

Blood dripped from his mouth. Slow at first, and then pouring out like vomit. Sickening choking noises escaped the guy's mouth as he slowly reached up and put two fingers in his mouth. What he pulled out caused everyone to still with dread.

A nail. A single, bloody nail sat in Dylan's hand. The boy stared at it for a brief moment before falling over and passing out. The kids in the hall started to scream, and soon teachers showed up. But the next thing Percy knew, a hand was around his wrist and they were bolting towards exit.

It took him a moment, but he finally realized that it was Nico that had grabbed him. The boy fumbled with his keys as they neared his black car. He hissed at Percy to get in, which Percy didn't question. Shock was still coursing through his system. What had just happened?

He looked over at Nico as the other boy shot out of the parking spot and went flying out of the school's parking lot. Finally, Percy found his voice. “What was that?” He said a little louder than intended.

Nico remained silent.

“He could have died!” Percy found himself shouting. He ran a hand through his hair as he slid down in his seat. “That was...insane! A nail!” Taking a slow, deep breath, Percy looked over at the other boy. “I thought you guys didn't use your powers in public like that?”

“We don't,” Nico replied in a voice too eerie for Percy's liking. It was then that Percy noted just how tightly Nico was gripping the steering wheel. Percy didn't understand. What was happening? Nico slowly exhaled. “Percy, I need to ask you something, and I need you to be honest.”

“O-okay?”

Nico briefly looked over at him as they sailed down the road. An ambulance flew by them, probably on its way to the school. “Do you have any idea how you survived that shooting when you were younger?”

Percy hastily shook his head. “None. I-I just thought I had a good doctor.”

Nico chewed on his lip. “You said your father's name was Don.” He looked at Percy from the corner of his eye. “Is that...is that a nickname for something?”

“Yeah.” Percy blinked. They were exiting the town now, on a straight course for the covens' houses. Why were they going there? “I just assumed people might know him by that name here. It's what everyone called him in California. The only people that called him by his real name was my mom and aunt.”

“The aunt that isn't even your real aunt,” Nico mumbled. He briefly closed his eyes with a sigh, which freaked Percy out a little bit, considering they were going well over the speed limit on an old, curvy road. “Percy?” The green-eyed boy looked over at him. “Were your parents Poseidon and Sally?”

Percy's eyebrows shot up. “You knew my parents?”

“No,” Nico whispered, “but I knew who they were.” Nico cursed under his breath, stopping the car for a moment. “Fuck, Percy! Why couldn't you have told us their real names?” His head made contact with the top of the steering wheel with a groan. Percy gulped as Nico hit the steering wheel. “My father was right! But we thought it was impossible.”

Percy blinked. It seemed like Nico was talking more to himself, rather than Percy. “I'm sorry,” the green-eyed boy whispered. His heart was racing, though. This meant that his search was finally over. “I just thought that, since no one recognized my last name, their first names wouldn't make a difference. And no one asked for my mother's name.”

Nico snorted. “That's going to be fun to explain to you.” He shook his head with a sigh. “I do know who your family is. My dad thought he recognized you because he grew up with your father.” Nico's mouth fumbled as he just sat there, looking over at Percy. “No one told us that they had a kid. We thought they just died. She didn't-” Nico's eyes widened. “Oh! Your aunt.” He nodded his head. “That makes sense.”

“What?” Percy asked.

Nico hit the gas again and the car shot forward. “Now I understand about all of this. You, how you survived the shooting, our connection.”

Percy frowned. “Good, but could you share this with me?”

Nico's lips slowly tilted down, like he had just realized something. “Oh,” he whispered. Percy watched as the boy pursed his lips, refusing to look at Percy.

Quirking a brow, Percy looked out the window as they reached the first of the covens' houses. He frowned over at Nico. “Where are we going anyways?”

“I'm taking you home,” Nico confessed.

“Um, this isn't really the way to my apartment.”

The car slowed down until it came to a halt in front of the large gate at the end of the road. “Your real home, Percy, to your family.”

Nico extended his hand and the gate slowly swung open. Percy gulped as they drove through and into the thick woods that surrounded the driveway. “I thought you said that this house wasn't being used?” Percy whispered.

Nico didn't answer. Percy frowned out the window. He felt uneasy, like all the yard was alive. Percy was afraid that one of the trees might come alive at any moment and crush them. The driveway felt a little longer than the others, which did not help Percy's nerves at all.

“Can you at least tell me what it is you've figured out?”

Nico gripped the wheel. “We can talk later, but there's someone you need to speak with first.”

Percy's breath hitched as they finally broke through the trees. It was the house from his very first dream. It was a little bigger, and looked slightly different, but Percy still recognized it. He still remembered the door slamming in his face.

It was a little bigger than Nico's house, but not by much. It looked newer, which probably meant it had been renovated since it was first built. Probably several times. Only two cars sat in the driveway, though. But the yard was massive, and the grass was so green! There were plants of all kinds, as well as tiny gardens scattered around the yard in various intervals. Trees of all assortments could be found there, including what looked to be a banana tree. Directly in front of the house was a large fountain, which contained a giant sundial in its very center.

It was perfect, just like in Percy's dream. The vines were still there on the pillars, stretching out across some of the walls and windows. Even the lantern was where it should be beside the large, oak doors. It took Percy a moment to realize that Nico had parked the car.

As they got out, Percy found himself gawking up at the large mansion. “What is this place?”

Nico came up beside him and slipped his hands into his aviator jacket. “This is the first house the coven built when we settled here.” He shrugged. “Well, it's obviously been fixed up since then, but you get the idea.” He offered Percy a small smile. “But it also happens to be your family home.”

Percy found himself slowly nodding. It was a lot to take in. He blinked in surprise. “Wait,” he grabbed Nico as the boy went to go towards the house. “Does this mean...”

“You're a warlock?” Nico quirked a brow and Percy nodded. “It does.” Nico squeezed Percy's shoulder. “I was already suspecting it after this morning. You sort of were the one making the bed levitate.” He sighed. “But then you sort of nearly killed Dylan, so I thought it best to bring you here now.” He pursed his lips. “I was hoping I was wrong.”

“Why?”

Nico shook his head, looking down at his feet. “We'll talk later.” He nodded towards the house and the two began to slowly walk towards the large, stone steps. “I, um, need to apologize.” He turned his head to look at Percy. “We sort of lied to you.”

Percy tilted his head to the side. “About what?”

“There are thirteen families, not twelve.” He chewed on his lip. “But we thought that your family died off, so the town sort of now believes there are only twelve families.” Nico winced. “I guess we're going to have to change it back.”

“Wait.” Percy grabbed Nico. “The coven altered their memories? The entire town?”

“Only once.” Nico shook his head. “We don't try to go around abusing our power so easily.” He looked down and pulled his arm away. “We just didn't want anyone questioning where your family disappeared to, we thought it better if no one remembered them.”

“That seems harsh.”

“Your family was the one that suggested it,” Nico mumbled.

“Oh.” Percy rubbed the back of his neck. Something was wrong, Nico looked depressed. Wasn't this good news? Percy wasn't a mortal, so part of their differences was now irrelevant. Before Nico could open the door, Percy grabbed his wrist. “What's the matter?”

Nico rubbed his arm, not meeting Percy's gaze. “Now you're just like us. You're cursed.” He chewed on his lip. “You're going to be stuck here,” the boy whispered. “I'm sorry for that.”

Percy smiled and brushed his hand against Nico's cheek. “I'll be fine.”

Nico nodded and turned back to the door. Without touching anything, the doors slowly opened as Nico took a step forward. Percy slowly turned around, his head looking everywhere as he followed after the pale boy. Shouldn't they have knocked?

Percy's ears were instantly greeted by the sound of a soft piano melody. Nico smiled upon hearing it, his head tilting up above them, where Percy could see the second floor. There were suits of armor up there, along with very large paintings of people that looked like they could be royalty.

The house was so...beautiful. That was the only way to describe it. Everything seemed to shine. There was a long, red rug that ran through the foyer of the house, which was where they currently stood. Nico just stood back and let Percy look around.

It was very bright in the room, but it was not because of the large chandeliers that hung above their heads. Towards the back of the house were large glass windows that let the sun's rays fill the house. Percy lost his breath when he looked up at the ceiling. It was a reflection of the sky. He chuckled to himself as he saw that some of the clouds were moving.

“It actually changes,” Nico whispered in his ear. He smirked up at the ceiling. Sure enough, the sky in the ceiling turned grey and it appeared to rain, though the droplets vanished halfway down before they could hit the ground. Nico chuckled and the sky returned to its sunny quality.

Looking around some more, it did not take Percy long before he found a large painting that caught his attention. A chill ran down his back. It was a painting of Kronos and Tartarus. It had to be back from Salem due to Kronos's ponytail and Tartarus's tan skin. They both looked so happy. Nico rested his chin on Percy's shoulder as the two stared at the two boys in the painting.

“You have his nose.”

Percy furrowed his brow as he turned to face Nico. “Who?”

But then he spotted a picture over Nico's shoulder. Nico blinked and stepped aside as Percy walked over to a small table and picked it up. It was his father, a little younger than he was. Percy's father had never really appeared that old, which now made some sense as to why that was. Perhaps it was just something in their genetics that made people with magic appear young. Percy chewed on his lip as he stared down at the picture of his father.

The music stopped playing, but Percy did not really acknowledge this fact. He sat the picture down and looked up to be greeted by a portrait of Kronos and Gaea. It was strange, though, because Kronos was dressed in something that could have passed from the 1920s. He opened his mouth to question Nico about it, but another voice came into the room.

“And who have you brought into my home, Nico?”

Percy froze. He knew that voice. It was a very, very familiar male voice. There was no way he wouldn't be able to recognize it, not after having dreamed about it all those times after coming here. Slowly, Percy swallowed a lump in his throat and turned around.

There, at the foot of the stairs, was Kronos himself. The very boy from his dreams.

And he did mean boy. The guy didn't look much older than Percy. His hair had been cut, no longer long enough to be in a ponytail. It now was short and parted off to the side. There was no hint of brown in his eyes anymore. Gold irises stared back at Percy intently. Even the guy's clothes looked new. He wore black dress pants and a grey button up shirt. His skin was still the pale color that Percy remembered it being, though.

But the last time Percy had seen Kronos, Tartarus had dragged him into the shadows. And that had to have been well over two hundred years ago. Right? So how was the guy from his dreams standing there, looking just as alive as the first time Percy had ever seen him?

Kronos's brow furrowed. He tilted his head to the side as he looked Percy over. “Poseidon?”

Percy wanted to tell Kronos that he wasn't his father, but Nico beat him to it.

He stepped in between Kronos and Percy, motioning to the green-eyed boy. Kronos was still staring at him like he had seen a ghost. Percy could relate. “This is Percy.” Nico's eyes flickered up to meet Percy's. “Your grandson.”


	14. The Coven

There had been a million different ways that Percy pictured how meeting his family would go, but staring at his grandfather, who looked to be the same age as him, was not one of them. And that wasn't even counting the fact that his grandfather had been alive during the Salem Witch Trials, which had been over three hundred years ago. Kronos looked like Percy's slightly older brother, rather than his actual grandparent.

And, so, like Percy's normal eloquent self, he blurted out, “Are you a vampire or zombie?”

Nico snorted and shook his head. “Don't be silly, Percy, vampires don't exist.” He tilted his head to the side when Percy visually relaxed. “They died out years ago.”

Percy felt sick. He knew that magic existed now, which was fine, but to find out other things like vampires had once existed left a bitter taste in his mouth. Kronos arched a brow. “Werewolves still exist, though. Has he met Piper's father yet?”

Nico smiled at Percy's pale face. “He has, but he doesn't know about that just yet.” The brown-eyed boy patted Percy on the shoulder. “Think more Native American lore, like a shapeshifter. Frank is technically one as well, though his is a bit different. Mainly due to his mixed heritages on both sides of his family.”

Taking in a slow breath, Percy nodded. None of this answered how Kronos was still alive, though. He frowned down at Nico. “I thought nobody around here knew my last name?”

Nico glanced over at Kronos before he returned his gaze to Percy. “Because it's not the same.” The boy let out a breath. “Your name has changed a lot over the past few hundred years. As of right now, they go by Johansson.”

“What, like the actress?” Percy asked.

Kronos looked confused, slipping his hands into his pockets. “Who?”

Nico waved him off. “It's not important.” He sighed and turned back to Percy. “They don't keep track of movies and things after your parents left,” the boy whispered to the green-eyed boy beside him. Percy gave a nod. Nico rubbed his neck. “What do you think about that, Kronos? Change the name again?”

Kronos regarded both of them for a moment. “More than likely. Names mean little to us, you know that.”

Nico smirked. “I'm sure that will give the town a headache when they get their memories of Poseidon and Sally back.”

“Wait, so my parents aren't that old?” He asked. Percy chuckled at the odd look he got from Kronos. “No offense, but I'm still confused on the age thing.”

Kronos eyed him funny for a moment. Taking a step closer, he lifted Percy's chin. Percy gulped at the frown at that formed on his grandfather's lips. “You have your father's eyes.” He let out a sigh. “Mother is going to be furious when she finds out that we were lied to.”

Percy blinked. “Mother? Your mother is still alive?”

Kronos shot Nico a confused look. The pale boy chuckled awkwardly. “So, um, he's sort of been dreaming about you and my grandfather.”

“Wait,” Percy interrupted. “Tartarus was your grandfather?” He flailed his arms. “How old do you people live for?”

His grandfather shrugged casually. “Typically, our kind live for anywhere between two-to-four hundred years.” Slipping his hands into his pockets again, Kronos paced Percy's form. “Though, that really isn't the case for our family. Our magic is complicated, and will take a few history lessons to explain. Basically, my mother and father's house magic was put together and my mother was able to discover the secret to making our house immortal. Unfortunately, it came after the loss of my father.” His eyes narrowed as he inspected Percy's face again. “Though, if you are anything like your father, your domain will consist primarily over water.”

“Which can include healing people,” Nico added.

Kronos nodded. “Myself and mother, we go a little further. A faint smirk spread across the young man's pale lips. “Though, I suppose you learn a few new things after a few hundred years of being alive.”

Percy blinked. “Like what?”

The smirk grew and Kronos snapped his fingers. For a second, Percy just blinked and finally shrugged. Nothing had changed. He went to open his mouth, but found it took him nearly thirty seconds to get it even partially open. His eyes widened as he turned to Nico, who was completely frozen in time behind him. Even the hands of the clock and the chime beneath the grandfather clock were frozen. Kronos was the exception, moving freely around the room. Snapping his fingers again, everything returned to normal.

“You didn't do-” Percy stopped himself. He had intended to say that before he had realized what had happened. The green-eyed boy did his best impression of a goldfish as he stared at his grandfather. “Okay, that was pretty cool.” He grinned. “Can I learn that.”

“Perhaps,” Kronos sighed. He tilted his head to the side. “You have a lot of catching up to do.” He rubbed his temple. “The coven has always run on the leadership of three families, ours being one of them. The other two are the Graces and the di Angelos. Due to the obvious complications, you are now behind in your studies.”

“That's an understatement,” Nico muttered.

Kronos shot him a dark look. “For now, you'll just learn what is intended of you.” He blew out a breath. “Time was my father's magic, but his family has died out, so it is now mine. We'll have to see how I feel after you get the hang of controlling water.”

“But how does any of that make me immortal?” Percy asked.

“What is water...Percy?” Kronos's brow furrowed.

Percy scrunched his lips. This was awkward, but to be expected. They had just met, so he tried not to sound bitter at the fact that his grandfather nearly forgot his name. He could only imagine what it was like for Kronos, never even knowing that he had a grandson.

Finally, the green-eyed boy let out a sigh. “I don't know.”

“Life.” Nico sat down in a nearby chair. “It represents life, Percy. Life and rebirth. It's why you can heal people with your magic, though nowhere near the extent of people like Apollo or Will.”

Kronos gave a nod. “You'll need a source of water to do any form of healing.” His eye cut over to where Nico sat. Percy watched as the young man's lips tilted up. “But that is a discussion for another time. Nico here knows that he's not allowed to overhear your magic.”

Percy frowned. Nico smirked up at him. “He's not being rude, it's the rules. I can learn the basics, like you'll be doing with everyone else, but family magic is off-limits to anyone not of your house.”

“Wait, what was that about learning other magic?” Percy asked. He let out a quiet groan. “How much am I expected to learn?”

Kronos smirked at him. “A lot. But he is right, you'll be put into special sessions with each Head of House to learn the basics of each individual house's magic.” He nodded his head towards Nico. “For example, everyone in the coven can see ghosts because of Nico's family.”

“They can?” The green-eyed boy blinked at his crush. “So, why haven't I seen any? I mean, aside from that spirit?”

“Spirit?”

Nico waved Kronos off again. “Long story. It was dealt with, don't worry.” He let out a sigh and turned back to Percy. “You haven't learned to see beyond the veil yet.” He bit down on his lip. “It's why you didn't see the ghost standing between me and Luke on the day we went to the river.”

The color drained from Percy's face. “There was a ghost hanging around that day?”

Nico gave a nod. “He was there to tell me that we had to get home.” The boy gave Percy a small smile. “I'm sure you thought Luke and I were arguing.”

“Yeah,” Percy sighed. He sat down in a chair opposite Nico. This is...a lot to take in.” He ran a hand through his hair. Even that was an understatement. All of this was completely overwhelming. But, at the very least, at least he now had his family, and he was even part of the coven, just like he had wished for. Letting his head fall against the wall, Percy closed his eyes. “So, I'm immortal then?”

“You are,” Kronos replied. “It'll probably be another year or two, but you should stop aging soon.” Percy opened his eyes to find his grandfather leaning over the railing of the stairs above him. “But you asked about your parents a few moments ago. The town did know them, but didn't grow up with either of your parents. Poseidon was a little over two hundred when he left home.”

Percy let out a long breath. Gripping the chair, he glanced over at Nico. “But you're not immortal?” He asked. Nico shook his head. “Are you really sixteen?”

A small smile crept onto Nico's face. “Yes, I'm really sixteen years old. And I'll probably look to be in my late twenties when I kick the bucket in several hundred years. We don't really age, regardless of if we are immortal or not.”

Kronos cleared his throat. When Percy looked up, he caught his grandfather staring at Nico. Percy frowned to himself. “If that is all, perhaps we should go take this news to my mother.”

Nico nodded and shot to his feet. He gave Percy's hand a squeeze and walked towards one of the large, glass windows. Percy watched as the boy stood there with his arms crossed, staring out the window. “Aren't you coming?”

Nico turned to look at Percy. “No.”

Percy frowned, but followed his grandfather up the stairs. Once they were at the top, Percy stopped. Kronos turned to raise a brow at him. Percy frowned down at Nico. “Does your mother not like Nico, or something?”

Kronos looked surprised. “No, not at all. She actually loves Jason and Nico, like they were her own. The others too, of course, but Nico and Jason spent a lot of time over here when they were toddlers.” He let out a sigh and stared down at the pale boy with a far off look. “This is just hard on him, I'm sure.” His golden irises flickered back up to Percy. “His father and I had been hoping that everything would end after your father passed, but now here you are.” He quickly pursed his lips and squeezed Percy's shoulder. “Ah, perhaps that came out wrong. But I'm sure you've noticed how drawn to the boy you must be. I can see it in the way you look at him.”

Percy's brow furrowed as he stared down at the boy in question. “Why does it sound like it's supposed to be a bad thing?”

“Perhaps it is not, but all curses come at a price.”

“Curse?” Percy's brow furrowed. “I just found out I have magic, and now I find out that I'm cursed?”

“Twice actually,” Kronos replied, leaning on the railing. His eyes grew dull as he watched Nico move around downstairs. “But the first curse is my fault actually, Nico and his family just got caught up in it.”

“You mean Tartarus?” Percy asked. Kronos's eyes flickered over to him. “I thought he killed you.” A faint chuckle escaped Kronos's mouth. “I mean, the last dream I had was him dragging you into the floor with some shadow magic.”

Kronos chuckled again. “That was quite the phase he went through.” Percy leaned on the railing next to his grandfather. Kronos rubbed at his face. “We did end up speaking to each other again eventually, but not for quite some time.”

“So, you two made up?”

There was a long silence. Kronos kept his gaze glued to Nico, which made Percy slightly uncomfortable. “The fight that you saw in your dream was the very reason your father and Hades were even born, Perseus.” He let out a sigh. “By the time we spoke again, Tartarus already got the girl pregnant. And when I found out, I was angry. So, I went to Rhea and asked her to marry me. It's just...we did it in secret and Tartarus didn't find out until we spoke again. I had never seen him so hurt as when I had to tell him that.”

“Is he,” Percy began, “even alive still?”

Kronos softly shook his head. “No, not for a couple of years now.” The young man let out another breath. “He actually objected to your parents leaving in the first place, though.”

Okay, Percy thought, note to self: when someone around here used the words 'a couple of years' to talk about someone really old, they really did mean it. The aging thing alone hurt Percy's head. He was going to need some aspirin. “Why did my parents leave?”

Kronos finally glanced over at him. “You'll find out later tonight, I'm sure.” He straightened his posture. “Congratulations, you get to stand in front of the actual coven tonight.” He smiled at the sick look on Percy's face. “If it makes you feel any better, I'd be more worried about Nico and the others getting in trouble for keeping the fact that you knew about us a secret. I kind of picked up on that from the way you two were talking.” He smirked. “But don't worry, they won't find out from me.”

“Thanks,” Percy muttered. Maybe his grandfather wasn't so bad. At the very least, he could honestly say that his grandfather was lively and probably entertaining. The weird part was that Percy could actually see himself wanting to hang with his own grandfather. He didn't think most teenagers thought things like that about their grandparents. “How long ago did he die?”

“About two years after your parents left.”

Percy frowned. “Why?” He sighed. “I mean, how did he die?” Not really something most people thought about asking about a guy that was over three hundred years old.

Kronos remained silent, but Percy did manage to catch the pained look that he gave Nico when the boy wasn't looking. It must be hard, Percy thought, having to be around someone that looked like the love of your life.

“So, what happened to him that day that you two fought?” Percy decided to ask.

Kronos let out a sigh and motioned for Percy to follow him. The young man led Percy down the right wing of the house, towards the end of the hall. Percy frowned. The door at the end of the hall was open, and inside he could spot a fire burning in the fireplace.

Finally, Kronos replied. “He did something that not even my mother thought was possible.” His lips tilted down. “You know, Tartarus's father was never intended to be the Head of House for his family, my mother wanted Tartarus to do it. She saw his potential, something his father was very angry about.” The young man came to a stop. “He was a very angry man, jealous of his own son's potential.” Percy frowned. He already knew that. “But what he did came at a price, which you probably saw part of it in the dream. You might have even seen it with Nico.” His eyes glimmered in the low lighting. “It was a price much larger than he originally thought.”

They came to the open door, where Kronos motioned for Percy to stop. The young man poked his head inside and cleared his throat. “What is it, dear?” Came an all too familiar woman's voice. Percy guessed that it should only make sense for Gaea to still be alive if Kronos was.

Kronos let out a breath and stepped into the room, motioning for Percy to follow. The green-eyed boy swallowed a lump in his throat and stepped in behind his grandfather. It still felt weird to call someone that looked like Kronos his grandfather.

Sitting in a red chair with a book and a martini glass was Gaea herself, still as young as the last time Percy had seen her. Though, she did not look as young as her son, perhaps in her mid-to-late twenties. The color drained from Percy's face as he realized she was also the woman from his first dream, the woman that had attacked those soldiers.

Much to Percy's surprise, Gaea did not seem that surprised to see him. She took one look at him, blinked, and returned to her book. “I thought we were past making mimics of Poseidon, Kronos?” She muttered, turning the page.

Kronos rolled his eyes and placed his hands on Percy's shoulders, ushering him forward. “This isn't a mimic, this is your great-grandson.” At that, Gaea slammed her book shut and looked back up at the teenage boy before her. “It seems we were lied to.”

“One moment,” Gaea said to Percy before putting her book aside and calmly picking up the phone beside her. It was one of those older phones, where the person had to put there finger on the number they wanted and then turn the dial to the right, repeating the process until the full number was dialed.

Kronos let go of Percy. He walked over to the corner and poured himself a glass of wine. Percy was surprised when his grandfather actually offered him some. While Percy did refuse it, he had to admit that perhaps having a young grandfather wasn't so bad after all.

Gaea smiled at Percy, the phone to her ear. He assumed the person the other line had picked up. “Yes, hello. I know, long time.” Her eyes narrowed at Percy, while Kronos calmly sipped at his wine. “Old friend, would you care to explain to me why...” She trailed off before gripping the arms of her chair, her smile vanishing. When she spoke again, it was yelling. “My great-grandson is standing in front of me! No, don't give me that crap, you know we can only have one kid.” She frowned. “No, you told me that Poseidon didn't have a child. I explicitly remember this conversation, Xiwangmu.”

Percy's eyes widened. Gaea knew his aunt? His fists clenched as he tuned out Gaea's conversation with his aunt. That meant that his aunt knew that he was a warlock the whole time, didn't it? She kept this from him! She sent him here, knowing who and what he was, and let him do it all by himself. And then there was the matter of his powers. Why were they just now surfacing, when Nico and others said that they are pretty much always there?

A crack appeared in the martini glass that Gaea had. “I don't care what you promised, he needed to be with his family! No, you waited three years before you sent him here, and you didn't even tell us.” The glass shattered in her hand. “I don't care what my grandson wanted! You think he knew better than someone that's been alive as long as us? The boy got into trouble almost every day of his life with Zeus and Hades.” Her eyes narrowed and her lip curled. “You don't even value oaths as much as we do, so I will not accept that excuse!” Something important must have been said, because Gaea's eyes widened. “He what?” Her eyes flickered up to Percy and her voice became calm. “Well, I suppose I do owe you for that. Fine, but do not think that this conversation is over, Xiwangmu.”

As Gaea hung up the phone, Kronos took a sip of wine with a smirk. “So, what did she say?”

“It seems Perseus here was supposed to have died with his parents,” the woman sighed.

Percy rubbed his chest with a frown. “But I'm alive.”

“Yes, you are.” Gaea rubbed her temple. “Your 'aunt', as you have been calling her, is an old friend of the family. She also happens to be a witch, one that I have known since I was a little girl.”

Kronos let out a chuckle. “Didn't you tell me that she tried to steal Arthur away from you?”

Percy's eyes widened. “Wait, like Arthur...King Arthur?” He asked. Both Kronos and Gaea nodded. How old were these people? He had been living with the Crypt Keeper for the past three years, and he hadn't even known. “Were you Guinevere?”

Gaea waved a hand through the air. “Oh heavens, no. I had a thing with him before the two of them met.” She let out a sigh and snapped her fingers. The shards of the martini glass slowly rose off of the floor and reassembled in her hand. “Kronos, would you be a dear and make me another?”

“Of course,” Kronos replied with a smile. He took the glass and walked over to where they kept the alcohol.

When Percy looked back, he found that his great-grandmother was staring at him quite intently. “Your aunt said she would call you later tonight and explain things to you.” She let out a breath and reached over for a pen and parchment. Percy watched as she scribbled something down. The ink began to glow red before it vanished entirely.

“What was that?”

Gaea blinked up at him. “I informed the rest of the coven that we will be having an emergency meeting tonight. You will be attending it.” Great, Percy thought. “I'm sure you have questions.” She smiled at her son as he handed her another martini. “Well, ask whatever you want.”

Percy fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. “Um, well, I guess I want to know why my powers are just now showing up? I mean, I've never done anything before, not even made a piece of paper float.”

Gaea rubbed her neck as she sipped slowly at the concoction. “Your magic was bound at birth. Your parents' decision. They apparently wanted to try and have a normal life.” She eyed the drink dully as she swirled it in her hand. “They didn't want you to know.”

He couldn't help it, Percy felt angry. That was not their decision to make, it was his powers. He could have grown up here with a real family, instead of living a lie. Why would his parents do that to him?

It was like Gaea knew exactly what he was thinking. “No sense in getting angry about the past, Perseus. What's done is done, and now you know the truth. It just means that you will have to work extra hard with your lessons.” It didn't make Percy feel any better. “They also made Xiwangmu promise not to tell you.” With a long sip, Gaea finished off her martini. “I suppose we also need to move your things into the house.”

Kronos nodded. “Nico is downstairs, I'll have him get the others to take care of it.”

Percy stopped his grandfather before the young man could get out the door. “They're still at school, it's not even lunch yet.”

“Right, school.” Kronos rubbed his chin. He frowned over at his mother. “We're going to have to do the whole 'school' thing again, aren't we?”

Gaea rolled her eyes. “He's seventeen, it's not like we have to drive him anywhere.” She snapped her fingers and stood up. “Which reminds me, if you want a new car, feel free to get yourself one. Or anything else you might want.”

“Money really isn't an issue,” Kronos added.

“Oh.” Percy rubbed his arms. “Thanks. I'll think about it. But most of the stuff at my apartment is rental.”

“Oh,” both of the immortals replied.

Kronos scrunched his lips. “Then we'll have that returned. You can spend the day thinking about how you want your room to look and we'll decorate it for you.”

Percy blinked. Anything? He really doubted there were limitations in a magical family. He had seen the other kids' rooms, so perhaps he would go with something like that. Big. His parents had never really been that wealthy—or at least that was what Percy had thought. And then his aunt had been a simple woman, who normally told Percy he only needed necessities. Did they really think he wouldn't ask for a lot of nice things? But, then again, maybe that was normal. From what he had seen, all of the people in the coven lived in luxury.

Placing his hand on Percy's back, Kronos led Percy out of the study. “Why don't you go have lunch with Nico then?” When Percy looked up, he found a distant look in the young man's eyes. “I'm sure there is a lot of things he needs to tell you about. I could, I suppose, but I feel it would be better if it came from him.” Unfortunately, Nico was not where they left him. Kronos frowned. “He's probably still on the grounds somewhere, if you want to look for him.” He waved around them absentmindedly. “Nico already knows this, but feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen. It's your home now, so it's your food. Just try to keep in mind that we try to have dinners together as often as possible.”

“Breakfast?”

“Will be served before you go to school during the week, and around ten during the weekends.” The young man grinned. “I'm not very fond of mornings, but mother is usually up at the crack of dawn, if you enjoy waking up early.”

“No thanks,” Percy muttered. 

“Then you and I can eat breakfast or brunch in the parlor.”

“So, are there any restrictions to living here, or being a part of all of this?”

Kronos tilted his head to the side, something that other people pointed out that Percy did a lot. Maybe they were related. “Well, there's the obvious 'don't expose magic to mortals', if that's what you mean.” The corners of the young man's lips tilted up. “Other than that, you get to sit in with the mini-coven, as your friends have taken to calling it.”

“So, am I a First?”

“No,” Kronos replied. He pointed a finger at himself. “I'm First. Mother is Head of the House, so congratulations, you don't have very many responsibilities.” His grandfather clapped him on the back. “Anything else?”

Percy had to arch an eyebrow at the immortally young Kronos. “You're not really what I imagined my grandfather might be like.”

Kronos smirked. “If you prefer, I can always ground you when you don't make good grades. Or, if you're anything like your father, when you get brought home by the police for tying pigs to the backs of cows.” He held up his hand before Percy could even speak. “Don't ask.”

Something caught Percy's attention from the corner of his eye. He glanced down to find Nico pacing around outside one of the large windows. He was one the phone, flailing his arms wildly. “So, um, do I have like a curfew?” Percy asked, turning back to his grandfather.

The young man blinked. “Do you want a curfew?”

Percy smirked and held out his arms. “I love this family already!” Kronos just chuckled and let Percy pull him into a hug. The young man awkwardly patted Percy's back.”

“That's the perk of being eternally young, Perseus, you'll always feel young.”

“So, what about having guests over? Are the others allowed to...crash over here?”

Kronos arched a brow at him. “Are you asking me if your boyfriend-”

“We're not dating,” Percy quickly amended.

Kronos rolled his eyes and waved him off. “Soon to be boyfriend then.”

“Is he allowed to sleep over?”

A snort escaped Kronos. “You can always sleep over at his house.”

Percy rubbed his arm, shifting his feet. “Um, yeah, I don't really feel like privacy is a thing in that house.”

“Ghosts?” Kronos asked. Percy nodded. “You get used to it. Tartarus and I used to-”

“Okay! I do not need to hear about my grandfather getting down and dirty with my crush's grandfather.” Percy let out a breath as Kronos smirked. “But is he allowed over?”

Kronos shrugged. “Sure, just, you know, keep it down.” That caused a blush to form on Percy's cheeks. “Nico already knows he's welcome over here whenever he wants. He's usually over here for dinner once or twice a month.”

Percy took a step down the stairs before coming to a stop. “I just...sort of expected more parenting in this situation.”

There was a shrug from Kronos. “I don't know really what you expected from us. We only just now found out you even exist, and it's not like we raised you. So we really wouldn't expect you to respect our authority.” He went to turn, but stopped. “Just...you know, behave yourself. While we tend to be laid back, Mother will take disciplinary matters if there's too much trouble. Other than that, you're free to do whatever. I trust that my son was capable of raising you to be somewhat rational.” He pointed a finger at Percy. “And by your father, I really mean your mother. Hell of a woman, just a shame that the coven couldn't overlook things.”

“Things?” Percy quirked a brow. “What happened?”

“You'll find out later,” Kronos sighed. He waved Percy off, already heading down the left wing of the house. “Enjoy the rest of your day, and try to have some ideas for your room before the coven meets.”

When Percy found Nico, the boy was on a swing on the patio behind the house. The boy smiled when he saw Percy. “So, how did it go?” Nico asked.

Percy rubbed the back of his neck. “Not really what I was expecting. Are they always this relaxed?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

The green-eyed boy sat down beside Nico. “So, who was on the phone?”

Nico smiled again. “Just Luke. I was informing him of the situation. He wanted to leave and come over, but I told him everything was under control.” The boy sighed and leaned back on the swing, letting Percy move it back and forth with his longer legs. “Don't worry, your family is cool. You'll probably think of Kronos as an older brother, rather than your grandfather.”

There was a nod from Percy. “It is a little weird with how young he looks.” He let out a sigh. “I also found out my aunt is a witch, and that she knew about me this entire time.”

Nico gave a slow nod. “Yeah, she told Gaea about how your parents were doing every now and then, but she never mentioned a kid.”

“What happened anyways?”

“Long story,” Nico mumbled. “Before I was born, obviously. I'm sure the others will be up in arms about it later, though.” He tilted his head to the side as he glanced over at the green-eyed boy beside him. “Well, welcome to the coven, I guess. Perks include magic and a big fat curse. Two, if you count the one between me and you.”

Percy's brow furrowed. “What?”

Nico nodded towards the house. “Kronos and Tartarus, they were cursed. Have you had that dream yet?” Percy gave a slow nod. “Well, Circe did say it would be for eternity. For our parents, it just made them really close friends, and then drove them apart around the time your parents left. Um, our thing is sort of my fault, to be honest.”

Offering a small smile, Percy reached over and squeezed Nico's hand. “I don't think having to be around you is a curse.”

“Well, that's just it. If you had never come here, you would have never been cursed, and I would have only had to deal with the one. Curses don't have a mind of their own, so it assumed I wouldn't have anyone to bind my soul to.”

“Oh.” Percy frowned. “I'm sorry.”

Nico shook his head. “Don't be, it's not your fault.” He let out a sigh and stared down at his feet. “It's just different for us, because...” Nico pursed his lips. “It just is.” He offered Percy a smile. “You've probably got a lot on your mind right now, no need to add more to it. We can talk about it later.”

Percy frowned. What was Nico avoiding? “What's so bad about feeling drawn to each other?”

Nico's dark eyes glanced over at him briefly. “It's not like that. We are bound to each other, for eternity. And when you are capable of living as long as we can, that's a very long time.”

There was a sad look in Percy's eyes as he pulled his hand back. “You don't want to be near me that long?”

Nico let out a sigh. “I didn't mean it like that.” He smiled and shifted closer to the other boy. “I do want to be around you, Percy, but the curse makes it hard to be away from each other. And, at the same time, works to keep us apart. Look what it did to our parents, they ended up on opposite sides of the country, and that wasn't even with them having any romantic feelings for each other. Our grandparents fought a lot and ended up having kids to spite each other. Kronos got married to spite my grandfather, Percy. But I don't think you know how painful being apart can be, until the person you love is literally right next to you and you can't touch them. That's what they went through.”

“So we just won't let that happen.” Percy stroked the back of Nico's hand with his thumb. “I really like you.”

That brought a smile to Nico's lips. It didn't last, though, as the boy pulled his hand away. “That would be nice, Percy, but you can't fight a curse. Our grandparents tried for years to break it, but they both failed. And nobody has even been able to break the curse over the entire coven either.” The boy let out a sigh. “Something will always keep us apart, Percy. You can't fight it. This is why I don't think we should date.”

Percy frowned. “Then you're just giving the curse what it wants.”

Nico snorted. “You're making it sound like a living thing, it's not.”

“Whatever,” Percy mumbled. “It doesn't change my point.” He shifted on the swing, tucking one of his legs underneath him. “Can you please just explain to me why you've been so against us dating since the beginning. You didn't even know you and I were cursed until this morning.”

“I've known about the curse since I was little, Percy. I just didn't think I'd have to deal with it.” The brown-eyed boy let out a sigh. “If you must know, it was because I originally thought you were mortal.”

Percy just shrugged. “So?”

Nico gave him a dull look. “Percy, what did you just learn about us?” Again, Percy shrugged. “We live for a very long time. I was afraid I would eventually fall in love with you, and then you would die. A mortal life is like the blink of an eye to us. I would have to live for like four more lifetimes after you died, and I'd do it with a broken heart.” He shook his head. “I was also afraid that you might find out about us and freak out, maybe even call me a freak.”

Percy ducked his head to catch Nico's eyes. “I would never think that about you.”

“It doesn't matter,” Nico mumbled. “You're not a mortal. And now the issue has changed. The roles have reversed, or so it seems.” Percy arched a brow at that. “You're going to live forever, Percy.”

“My dad didn't.”

Nico let out a sigh. “Unless you get killed. You're immortal, not invincible.” His dark gaze flickered up to Percy's eyes. “I'm going to die, Percy. I guess I'm scared that you'll eventually forget about me.”

Percy frowned and pulled Nico. “You worry too much. I wouldn't forget about you.”

Nico just laughed and shook his head, staring up at the sky. “It all really does make sense now.” He motioned between the two of them. “This feeling between us, it's only going to get worse. Imagine what will happen when you go back to California when summer rolls around.”

Percy's eyes dulled as he cut his gaze over to the glass. “I'm not going back,” he muttered.

Nico's eyebrows rose. “Why not?”

“I was looking for my family, wasn't I? I found it. You don't know how much I wanted to be part of this family that all of you have going on.” Percy shook his head. “I felt comfortable around all of you, like I belonged. It sort of hurt whenever I got told I couldn't spend time with any of you because you had stuff to do.”

“But we did.”

Slowly, Percy nodded. “I know that now. I just...don't think I can see myself going back now.”

“Honestly, I don't think you should.”

The green-eyed boy narrowed his eyes. “You say that now!”

Nico chuckled at the pout Percy gave him. “It's different now. Now we know you have magic, something that can be dangerous if you don't learn to control it.” Percy still pouted. Nico smiled and leaned in to peck the boy on his cheek. “And I guess I'd miss you if you left.”

“You better,” Percy mumbled. His brow furrowed as Nico smiled and looked away. He would eventually have to tell Alabaster that he wasn't coming back, though. Percy assumed that his aunt always knew that he would remain here if he found the coven. It didn't change the fact that he was upset with her, though.

\--------------------------------

After dinner, Percy found himself in the cemetery with Kronos. He had given Nico the details for his room shortly before dinner. Apparently, Nico and the others would move his stuff out of the apartment while he met with the adults, while returning the rentals. Nico assured Percy that he would make sure the layout for the room would be just how Percy wanted it.

Kronos held out a bag of candy, already chewing on some. Percy shook his head. “Where are the others?” Percy asked quietly.

Kronos nodded towards the mausoleum. “Oh, they are already here. I just thought I'd give mother a few minutes to break the news to them, mainly so you don't have to hear some of the outrage.”

Percy frowned. “They won't be happy to see me?”

There was no quick response. Another piece of candy was shoved into the young man's mouth. “Let's just say that your mother didn't leave the coven on the best terms.” Arching his brow, Kronos bit off the head of a Sour Patch Kid. “So, I trust that you and Nico had the talk?”

“He told me about the curse between us, if that's what you mean.”

Kronos nodded again. “Good, good.” He sighed and looked down at his bag. “Look, Percy, for what it's worth, I'm sorry you have to have this curse in the first place. It was my fault.” His gold irises shined eerily in the moonlight, almost like an animal. “Perhaps it would have been better if you had never come here.”

“Why do you say that?” Percy asked, slipping his hands into his pockets.

“Because you now have to share in our curses, and not just the one between you and Nico.” The young man's brow furrowed. “I take it Nico didn't talk about the other one?”

Percy shook his head. “You mean the one when Circe got hanged?” Kronos gave a nod. “No, he didn't mention it.”

“Well,” Kronos said, motioning around them, “you can see the effects for yourself.” Percy quirked a brow. “The graves, Perseus. The curse was meant to destroy us. Now we have members dropping for random things. Maria was murdered, Pluto sold his soul to try and save Hazel's mother, Demeter's mother had a bad experience with a potion she was working on and it melted her skin off, and then May went insane.”

“May?”

“Luke's mother.” Kronos let out a sigh. “I'm sure you have noticed that death pretty much surrounds our families. We live in the modern world, yet this town treats us like we were back in Salem.” He let out a chuckle. “One of the reasons we don't move to a city. But the curse also left some other side effects.” Kronos raised a finger and pointed it at his head. “We can literally drive ourselves insane. First, because when we look in the mirror, we can occasionally catch glimpses of our true selves. We look young, but it's like a friendly reminder that we should look like walking corpses. Not only that, but the others can literally sense their deaths. Tartarus...” The young man's lips tilted down. “He said he could feel his approaching right before he died.”

“So, he died of old age?”

Silently, Kronos shook his head. He frowned and folded what was left of the bag before putting it into his pocket. “If Nico isn't ready to tell you, it's not my place to say. But that alone has driven some of my friends completely insane, hearing whispers in their head about how much longer they had on this planet.” He shook his head again. “I just have to wonder, if you had of never come here, would it have been possible for you and Nico to have had normal lives?”

Percy looked down at his feet. When Kronos put it that way, Percy also had to wonder if he was actually harming Nico by being there. Would it have been better if they had never met?

“Come on,” Kronos whispered.

He led Percy over to the mausoleum before he pulled an amulet out from underneath his shirt. The stone was made of emerald, while a golden trident sat under the stone. The stone was held in place by metal that was shaped to look like the roots of trees, tangling around the four corners.

Kronos pulled it out and pressed it into the center of the mausoleum, where it actually stuck to the stone. Reaching up, Kronos adjusted the odd markings that Percy had noticed the first time he had come to the cemetery. He watched with fascination as Kronos shifted the odd lines and half triangles until they formed a single figure. A pentagram.

Something clicked inside the stone and the wall opened inwards. Percy just stood there, gawking, for a moment. Kronos slipped his hands into his pockets and took the first few steps into the dark passage. Percy gulped and followed after his grandfather.

There really wasn't any light, so Percy practically had an impossible time navigating. If not for the dim outline of Kronos's shirt in front of him, Percy probably would have tripped or ran into something. But the trail kept winding around, like a spiral staircase, slowly descending into the earth.

All around them, Percy could hear the faint dripping of water. Slow and singular at a time, but it was there. The air felt tighter as they went, like it was being choked out of him. Yet it was cold, like Nico's skin. But colder, much colder.

And then torches came to life. Percy's blood ran cold as he realized what he was staring at.

It was the stone door from his dream, exactly as it had looked. There were a few torches in the room, as well as two spots where water dripped from the ceiling. Skulls lined every inch of the walls, save for the large, stone door. They protruded from the wall, and some even had worms wiggling around in them.

And then there was the door. The strange carvings were still a mystery to him, unable to make out what they said. However, he did finally realize what one of the markings was for. The crescent moons and full moon that sat in the very center of the door was for the Triple Goddess, something Percy had learned while trying to research witchcraft.

The bowl, however, was a little more alarming than when Percy had seen it in his dream. The knife that was inside the bowl, as well as spots on the bowl itself, carried traces of blood. The crimson liquid dripped from the tip of the knife.

And, without hesitation, Kronos picked up the knife and slid it along his palm. More blood dripped out as he held his hand over the bowl. Little by little, red liquid filled it up. Percy gulped as Kronos pressed the tip of the dagger inside and swirled it around.

There was a faint hissing noise from the bowl as the blood slid from the bowl, up the wall and into the strange markings. It filled each marking up until it was all bright red. And then it slid into the full moon before the blood turned black. Some of the blood rose to the top of the door, while the rest dripped down to the bottom, both a straight line down the very center.

And then the door split in half and swung open. Inside was a circular room with tiled floor and stone chairs. The wall around the room was filled with dusty books and objects that Percy had never even seen. There was, however, another door that caught his attention. It was large and black with gold trimmings. Large, iron chains were bound around it, but there did not appear to be a keyhole. The only thing Percy could see was a circular shape, the same size as the amulets that he kept seeing.

Most of the chairs were filled with the adults, but half were still empty. If he did the math right, Percy counted twenty-six in total. Kronos left him standing there to take a seat in the empty chair beside his mother. However, no one paid him any attention. Instead, all eyes were on Percy.

“Um, hi,” Percy said with an awkward wave.

Hades shook his head with a sigh, while Hermes placed his hands behind his head with a smirk. He knew some of the adults there, but some were complete strangers to him. Gaea, Zeus, and Hades sat in a triangle formation in the circle of chair. Demeter was there as well, though she kept herself busy with some knitting. Aphrodite smiled brightly at him from her chair, waving at him flirtatiously. Even Apollo was there, though he seemed to be the most relaxed out of the bunch. But that was the extent of who Percy knew in the room.

A short woman sat to the right of Zeus, her facial features striking. Her light brown hair was done in a braid with a golden ribbon tied into it. Her smile was motherly, but not warm like Demeter's. Something felt hidden behind it, like a cat that had just caught the mouse. Her brown eyes studied Percy carefully as the boy fidgeted. Her posture was completely perfect, graceful as she sat in her chair. 

Beside Apollo sat a short girl that looked like she could pass for Apollo's baby sister. From what he had heard, Apollo had a twin, but this girl looked several years younger than her brother. But that meant this was Artemis. Her hair was practically the exact opposite of Apollo's golden locks. Apollo's hair reminded Percy of the rising sun, while Artemis's hair was auburn locks looked more like the setting sun. Her eyes were practically silver, like two full moons watching Percy like some wolf. Also unlike her brother, her skin was a pale white. She was very beautiful, though. Her smile was also a lot friendlier than most of what Percy saw in the room.

Close to Aphrodite sat a brute of a man. He didn't even bother putting on a smile for Percy, instead his face was marred by a sneer. His eyes were a bright red, and flickered like flames in the torch-lit room. He reminded Percy a lot of a biker with his black jeans, combat boots, muscle shirt, and leather duster. Around his neck was the same necklace that Percy had seen on Frank, though this man's chain was made of actual iron chains. There were several scars on his cheeks, and when he grinned at Percy, the green-eyed boy spotted a pair of sharp canines. His black hair was oily and styled in a crew cut.

On the other side of the bull-like man, sat a very large and odd-looking man. He reminded Percy a lot of a younger Santa Claus, except with brown hair and beard. And a lot less jolly. Percy blinked when he heard a creaking noise from the man. Glancing down, Percy noted that the man's left left leg was missing and had been replaced by some kind of machine leg, sort of like Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon. Which made Percy think the smith viking was a good way to describe the man. The man had a lot of dirt and soot on his face, a lot like Leo and Beckendorf would after they got out of their mechanics class. He was dressed down a lot more than the others, wearing an old jumpsuit that looked like it had seen better days.

Next was a man was too busy drinking wine to pay Percy any attention. Right away, Percy assumed this was Dionysus, the owner of the wine store. At first, Percy thought the man's eyes were reflecting the wine, but then he realized they really were purple. His hair was black and untidy, like the man had better things to do at the moment than worry about his appearance. His nose and cheeks were red, probably from the drinking. But his Hawaiian shirt nearly caused Percy to go blind from its bright colors.

Finally, there was a woman on Artemis's other side. She bore a striking resemblance to Annabeth in the face and eyes. Must be her mother, Percy thought. Unlike her daughter, though, the woman had beautiful black hair that draped down her back in small curls. However, their eyes were the exact same, cold and grey. She carried Annabeth's athletic and lean build as well, with long legs.

Percy blinked, and the next thing he knew, he was standing in the center of the circle. The silence was killing him, though. Would it kill them to just say something? Or maybe he'd rather they not, considering the looks he got from some of them.

The bull-like man was the first to speak, sitting up more in his chair with a confused look on his face. Which seemed appropriate, since he looked like the dumb bully type that flunked most of his classes. “So, let me get this straight: that's Poseidon's little brat?”

Hades was slumped in his chair. “He looks like his father, how can you not see that?”

“Yet you didn't care to mention it to the rest of us,” sniped the woman from beside Zeus. Hades and her glared at each other before the woman turned a warm smile on Percy. “Perseus, sweetie, we're happy you found your way to us.”

Hermes shrugged. “In Hades's defense, we all thought Poseidon never had a child. I'll admit, I was uncertain myself.” His lips tilted down as he examined Percy. “It was like staring at a ghost.”

Percy nearly jumped when someone slammed their fists against a stone chair. Turning around, he found Zeus with a scowl on his face. “Don't try to mask the niceness in front of this coven. Hermes, may I remind you that you were one of the people that voted to exile my sister!”

Percy's eyebrows shot up. Wait, his mother was Zeus's sister? That made him and Jason cousins, didn't it? But his mother was exiled? Why?

Hermes held up his hands, though he appeared more like a teenager trying to defend himself. Kronos was right, they did keep a young mindset in their older ages. “We've been over this, Zeus, I would take it back if I could. But it was an extreme circumstance. She willingly displayed magic in front of mortals.”

“On a mortal,” Annabeth's mother muttered. The woman eyed Percy coldly. “In broad daylight.”

“Family is still family,” the woman beside Zeus added.

Hermes rolled his eyes. “Shut up, Hera.” The woman huffed, but didn't object any further.

Gaea cleared her throat, silencing the room. Percy glanced over at Kronos, who just smirked and nodded his head over to his mother, as if to say: Congratulations, you just became a member of the big family in the coven.

“We are not here to discuss matters that happened a long time ago,” the woman began. “When Poseidon left with Sally after she was banished, they died. We assumed they never had a child, but it seems it was meant to be kept from us. Perhaps it was their wish to keep young Perseus here from this life, but he is here now.” She motioned to Percy. “Is there any objections as far as inducting him goes?”

The room was silent. Kronos placed his hands behind his head. “Then we'll need each of you to begin giving him lessons immediately. He needs to be caught up as fast as possible.”

“Why?” Percy blurted out.

Kronos blinked at him once before rubbing his mouth. “Because, Percy, if you don't learn to control your powers quickly, you will probably lose control of them. Probably in public. The fact that your powers were bound and just sprang to life is not the best way to handle a situation like this. Because your friends have spent their entire lives learning how to control their powers, which have developed slowly over their lessons. Yours, however, have all sprang to life at once. You already have the full power that Nico, Luke, Jason, and the others your age possess, but without any form of control over them. You could very well kill someone at school without meaning to.”

“Again,” Hermes added with a grin.

Kronos let out a sigh. “He didn't kill the boy, just sent him to the hospital.”

Percy frowned, unable to stop himself. “How is any of that different from what you guys do, though? You guys act out against the people in town with your magic.”

Eyes shifted from person to person, several glaring at Percy. “Watch your mouth, brat!” The bull-like man snapped.

“Silence, Ares,” Hera chided him with a snap of her fingers. She let out a breath. “The child does have a point.” She smiled at Percy. “But you have to understand, Perseus, we are just defending ourselves. The reason your mother was placed on trial before the coven in the first place was for displaying her magic in public. We never use magic in public.”

“At least not obviously,” Dionysus muttered. Hera shot him a dirty look.

It was strange, through all of this, Hades remained gravely quiet. For someone that was supposed to have been best friends with his father, the man didn't seem very eager to comment on anything. He just sat there, rubbing his chin and staring at Percy.

Apollo leaned forward in his chair. “It's not like we go around killing people, Percy. We just give people what they deserve.” He pointed his finger out at Percy. “You know what's happened to a lot of us. You know about Nico's mother, don't you?” He nodded his head as Percy clenched his fists. “Those people deserved what they got. Most of them are broke and are barely able to scrape by, one is a cute and furry mutt. I think it's an improvement.”

“Do you ever shut up?” Artemis sighed. Apollo grinned over at her. “What my brother is trying to say, is that we don't go around looking for trouble. But, to be fair, the town isn't fully to blame. Our curse makes them hostile towards us, as it would with any other place we went to. The treatment that our kind experienced in Salem is meant to follow us for the rest of our lives.”

“Until the coven is wiped out,” Annabeth's mother added.

Artemis nodded. “Exactly what Athena said. The curse seeks to destroy our coven, drive us apart. We are meant to die,” her eyes shifted over to Kronos, “for what happened.”

Kronos let out a breath, rubbing his eyes. “Are there any problems or concerns about this turn of events, though?”

“None,” Aphrodite said with a smile at Percy. The green-eyed boy arched a brow and earned a wink from the woman. Now that Percy knew that these people could live for hundreds of years, he wondered what that would classify Aphrodite as. A gilf seemed like an understatement in this case. Not that he wanted to have sex with Aphrodite. Percy shuddered. No way.

Finally, the man in the jumpsuit looked up. “And how do we know that we can trust him?” Everyone looked over at him in confusion. “He showed up right around the time all of these weird occurrences started happening. The boy came to town on the same flipping day that the first pastor was murdered!”

Hera held up her hand. “Hephaestus, please, calm yourself.”

Zeus pointed a finger over at the ragged Santa lookalike. “First you accuse my sister of intentionally trying to expose us, and now you are pointing fingers at my nephew?” The man shouted. He rose to his feet and glared over at Gaea. “Tell me you aren't going to let this slide this time.”

Gaea let out a sigh and motioned for Zeus to sit down, which he did. Out of magic or willingly, Percy didn't know. “Considering Percy here has had no knowledge that he even possessed magic until this morning, I will assume he isn't related to any of that.” Her fingernails tapped lightly on the arm of her chair. “And I would prefer it if we didn't try and suggest that it happened in his slip. Nico has told me that he has seen no signs, not even a hint, of magic from Percy until this morning.”

“You mean the lovesick kid?” Ares grunted. He snorted and shook his head. “I'm sure that is a reliable sou-”

Percy blinked as Ares's mouth filled with spiders. Hades's eyes were pure black when Percy glanced over at him. Ares spat them out, having to smack some of them off of his face. “Watch your mouth when talking about my son,” Hades said, pointing his finger over at the larger man.

When everything was said and done, Percy was taken out of the room by Kronos. Nico was waiting for them in the cemetery. “How did it go?” He asked.

Percy shrugged, smiling at the shorter boy. “It was okay. I guess I passed.”

Kronos arched an eyebrow at him before turning his attention to Nico. “Did you get everything set up?”

“Yep.” Nico's lips tilted up. “Blue, blue, blue. Blue everywhere.” He chuckled at Percy's happy expression. “You have problems.”

Kronos gave a nod. “Well then, I suppose I'll see you back at home, Perseus.”

Percy nodded as Kronos took off towards the exit. He frowned at Nico. “Can we go somewhere? I just don't really feel like talking to any of the others right now.”

“Sure,” Nico whispered. He took Percy's hand and darkness swallowed them.

They emerged behind Nico's house, where Nico sat down in a black iron swing. Percy let out a breath and sat down next to him, the feel of the fall wind blowing at his face. It had been a long and exhausting day, and Percy sort of just wanted to curl up and go to sleep. But at the same time, he wanted to talk to Nico.

Percy rubbed at his face. “So I'm Jason's cousin?”

Nico gave a slow nod. “Yeah, he's your mother's older brother. You have an aunt, too.”

“I do?”

Nico smirked and leaned against Percy's side. “You know her.”

“Well, I figured that.”

“Your teacher, Hestia.”

Percy nearly choked and Nico had to smack him on the back to get him to stop coughing. “I'm sorry, but did you say Ms. Hestia? She's a witch?”

The brown-eyed boy shrugged. “Yes. Long story, but the town doesn't associate her with us. Our parents figured that it would be nice to have one of our own at the school to watch us.” Nico's pale fingers intertwined with Percy's. “Oh, and that also makes Ares your cousin as well. Congratulations.”

Percy narrowed his eyes, letting himself lean against the boy next to him. “You're a jerk.”

Nico smiled back at him. “Just part of my charm.” His head came to rest on Percy's shoulder. “Don't you want to see your new room?”

“Why? I have the rest of my life to see it.”

“Fair enough,” Nico mumbled. He let out a sigh as Percy slipped an arm around him. “But I can't stay long, school night and all that.”

Percy pouted, nodding reluctantly. “I know. Do you want to go?”

“Not really.” Nico stood up, stretching. “But I do need to. Besides, you need the rest. You'll be expected to start some of your lessons after school tomorrow. That is if they even make you go. They might just keep you here and tell the school you're sick. I guess we'll see.”

Percy stood up and wrapped his arms around Nico's waist. “I guess so,” he muttered, nuzzling Nico's neck.

“Percy,” Nico whispered, looking away. “I told you that I don't think this is a good idea. It's only going to get harder if we-”

Percy shut the boy up with a kiss. Nico's eyes were wide at first, until they slowly closed. The boy's arms fell lifelessly from Percy's body as the green-eyed boy leaned Nico backwards. A soft sigh escaped Nico's lips, bringing a smile to Percy's face.

When they separated, Percy rested his head against Nico's forehead. “One date, please. Just give me that one chance.”

Nico chuckled. “You've had chances,” he said, pushing lightly on Percy's chest.

Percy pouted and batted his eyelashes. “Please? A real date. If you still don't want to date me, I'll leave it alone.”

With a smile, Nico narrowed his eyes. “You're lying.” He finally pulled away from Percy, running a hand through his hair. “Saturday night.”

Percy smiled like an idiot as Nico leaned up and pecked him on the cheek. But the next thing he knew, Percy stood in a new room. A very, very blue room. His new room. He smiled as he slowly turned around in a circle to take it all in.

The bed was a canopy bed with dark blue curtains. The comforter was a light blue and the sheets were white. Loads of pillows decorated the head of the bed. Most of Percy's stuff from the apartment was there: his laptop, textbooks, video games, trophies, and even his clothes. The clothes had been stored inside a walk-in closet that still had plenty of room for more clothes to be added.

A huge TV was on the wall opposite his bed, all of his DVDs had been stored on a shelf beside it. His laptop had been placed on a desk in the back right corner of his room, right in front of one of the windows. He even had his own private bathroom.

But the best part lined a good portion of the wall beside the desk. A fish tank had been built into the wall. At the moment, there were no fish inside of it, but Percy could only assume this was Gaea and Kronos's way of telling him that he was allowed to get some.

However, something else was waiting for him in the room. On his desk was a massive stack of old books, most that were bound in leather. Taking a look at the cover of the one on the top, Percy found the head of a ram. The feel, however, felt odd, though vaguely familiar. He just couldn't place it, though.

Great, Percy thought to himself, more homework for him.

“Human flesh.”

Percy spun around at the sound of Gaea's voice. “I'm sorry?”

She smiled at him. “The book that you're caressing, it's made of human flesh.” Percy suddenly felt sick as he gently placed the book back down and stepped away from it, dusting his hands on his jeans. “Very old, and taken from a dead man, if you must know. I trust you know you're expected to read through all of those?”

Percy let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. “Reading has never really been my thing.”

“Well then, I suppose it's time for it to become your 'thing'.” Percy actually smiled as he watched his great-grandmother make air quotes. She took a few steps into the room, lacing her hands together. “The other children are being informed of this, but we need you to keep a low profile around school for a while.”

Percy's brow furrowed. “Okay? What's up?”

“Well, for one thing, everyone is going to start to associate you with our families now,” Gaea explained. She sat down on the edge of Percy's bed. “I trust you know that means that most people in the town will probably dislike you.”

“Not really worried about it.”

Gaea slowly nodded with the hint of a smile. She seemed friendly, but there was still something cold in her eyes that concerned Percy. “That is good. The other thing, the thing that your friends are hearing about as we speak, is that an 'ex-witch' is expected to arrive in town this week.”

Percy took a few steps towards his bed. “Is that a bad thing? Don't people ever leave their covens?”

“You can't escape from what you are, Perseus.” Gaea straightened out the edges of her dress. “Those of us born with magic will always be witches and warlocks. We might run away or get exiled, but we never call ourselves 'ex-witches'. Anyone that would call themselves is simply just a mortal playing with things they do not fully comprehend.”

“Okay, I'll keep my head down.” Percy frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. “Thanks, for all of this, though.”

Gaea smiled softly. “Feel free to get any kind of fish you want for the tank.” She stood up and headed for the door. “Whether you work to feed them or not is your decision, but you do have the option as a warlock to enchant the tank to deposit food to your pets on a regular schedule.”

Percy's eyebrows rose as the door closed. The more and more that the day went on, he found himself liking the new turn of events. Of course, he had to remember that Nico and the others kept talking about magic and the fact that it had rules. He had to keep in mind that he couldn't just go on some crazy spree.

The boy collapsed onto his bed at the same time his phone began to buzz. His brow furrowed as he reached into his pocket and dug it out. As expected, it was from his aunt. Though, Percy had to wonder how appropriate that term was anymore. She did raise him for three years, but for some reason the term didn't feel right anymore.

With a sigh, Percy accepted the call and held the phone up to his ear. “Hey, Aunt Xi.”

“Well don't sound so excited to talk to the woman that took care of you for the past few years,” the woman chided him, like she knew exactly what he had been thinking. With what Percy knew now, he had to wonder if she really could. “I take it you are mad?”

“A little,” Percy admitted. His lips tilted down. “Listen, you can't see me right now or anything crazy like that, maybe read minds?”

The woman on the other end of the call gave a soft laugh. “Don't be silly, Perseus, our kind cannot read minds.” Percy let out a sigh, rolling his eyes. “I understand your frustration, my little baby seal, but I was merely doing what your parents made me swear to do.”

“Gaea said you don't value oaths as highly.”

“This is true, she is right. However, your parents did, so I wished to honor their requests.”

“But you didn't,” Percy muttered. He ran a hand through his hair. “You sent me here, and I'm pretty sure they didn't want that.”

“No,” Xiwangmu answered softly. “I never agreed with their wish to keep you in the dark as to what you are. You are strong, Perseus. You come from a strong family. This is why I sent you to Louisiana, to discover what I was forbidden to tell you.”

“You couldn't have pointed me to them?”

“What part of forbidden does not get through that thick skull of yours, Perseus?” The older woman chided him. It had to make Percy wonder why she appeared to be so old, when he had just found out that witches and warlocks still look young when they die. “You found them, didn't you? I promised your parents that I would maintain your binding, but I couldn't maintain it if you were no longer nearby.”

Percy let his head fall back, realization dawning on him. “So you sent me away.” His brow furrowed. “So, you're just really good at finding loopholes?” Chewing on his lip for a moment, Percy realized there was something else he wanted to ask. “Aunt Xi?”

“What is it, my brave warrior?”

Letting out a breath, Percy closed his eyes. “The night my parents were murdered...did I die?” There was no answer. “Aunt Xi?”

“I heard you,” she finally replied. Percy heard her let out a breath. “Yes,” she whispered. “You died, but I brought you back.”

Percy sat up with a frown. “Magic that strong has to come at a price, doesn't it?”

“Do not worry your little head over it, Perseus.” Percy heard the creak of a chair. “Your great-grandmother and I are very old and know a trick or two.”

Percy ran a hand down his face. Nico was right, he supposed, he really should have been dead. Perhaps Nico's magic let him sense that. Pulling his hand back, Percy found that he was shaking. It was not every day that someone found out they, technically, should be a rotting corpse. Percy felt sick. What if he was a zombie?

“Okay,” Percy whispered. He nodded his head, even though he knew she wouldn't be able to see it. He didn't know how to feel right now. But he knew that he wasn't really in the talking mood anymore. “Listen, can I let you go? I just need to think.”

“Oh.” He could hear the hurt in his aunt's voice. “Of course, Perseus. If you need me, always feel free to call. I still love you, Percy, but I am glad that you've found your family. It's where you belong.”

“Yeah. I love you, too.” He let out a sigh before pulling the phone away from his ear and ended the call.

The phone dropped onto the bed and Percy closed his eyes. There were so many emotions running through his mind. He was happy that he finally found his family and had a real home with them. He also loved his new room, but it almost felt foreign to him. Perhaps it would just take time to adjust to. But most of all, Percy felt resentful. Mostly at his parents. Even if they were banished from the coven, Percy felt bitter that they never even mentioned it to Percy.

And what if they had never left Aimes? He could have grown up with his parents, grandfather, and great-grandmother. They could have been a real family. It was what Percy had wanted ever since he met the others, to have grown up here. He could have already met Nico and grown up with him, cursed be damned.

The curse. Percy opened his eyes and stared blankly up at ceiling. Maybe they could break it, though. He could only hope, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as a warning, I only have one more chapter after this saved up. I'm just having a hard time figuring out what to do at the moment. Like, I had the beginning and end planned out, but no middle. And we're around the middle right now. So, I'll probably update the next chapter in the next few days, but the story is currently on a temporary hiatus while I plan out some material. If all goes well, I should be back on track in a few weeks.


	15. First Lessons

Tartarus sat at the kitchen island, while Kronos fiddled around in the freezer. It wasn't the one Percy remembered being in the kitchen, though, nor was Kronos dressed like he had earlier. Kronos wore a white button up shirt with black suspenders. Tartarus wore a dark turtleneck sweater, watching the other male like a hawk. Kronos pulled out a bag of ice and walked back over to Tartarus.

“Lift it.”

Tartarus rolled his eyes, clinging tightly to the stool that he sat on. “I'm fine, Kronos, really.”

Kronos didn't budge. “Your shirt. Take it off, or I'll make it disappear.”

Letting out a sigh, Tartarus lifted the hem of his shirt, dragging his shirt over his head. All across his pale skin were dark bruises, just like the ones Percy had seen on Nico. “It's nothing that I can't handle.” He winced as Kronos applied the bag of ice to the largest bruise. “I know what I'm doing, Kronos.”

“Of course you do,” Kronos muttered sarcastically. Light brown eyes flickered up before Kronos turned around and swiped his index finger into a wooden bowl. When he pulled his finger out, a dark green gel covered that majority of his finger. Pursing his lips, Kronos ran the green goo all all over the other guy's chest and back. “This isn't any way to live.”

Reaching up, Tartarus took hold of the hand Kronos was using to apply the gel to his body. The look the pale young man gave him certainly was not one that applied they were over. And neither was the deep kiss that Tartarus gave Kronos. “You worry too much.”

At the sound of someone clearing their throat, the two sprang apart. Gaea walked in with a glass, which she deposited into the sink. She arched a brow as she walked over and picked up a pear. “Is there anything we can do for you, Tartarus?” She asked calmly.

The pale warlock shook his head, forcing a smile onto his lips. His eyes flickered back to Kronos's face, who was back to applying the gel. “No, ma'am.”

The three bodies and even the room itself dissolved into smoke. The scene changed and Percy now saw Nico's house, which had quite a few people inside of it. Hades paced around at the bottom of the stairs, while several women ran up and down them. Tartarus stood down the hall, staring up at an old portrait of his father. There was a dark look in the warlock's eye, like he blamed the painting for whatever had happened.

Hera came down the stairs in a hurry, a handful of bloody blankets in her arms. Hades grabbed her am. “What's happening up there?” He asked her.

“I cannot say for certain, but things do not look good.”

Tartarus turned his head slightly. Off to the side, and in the shadows, stood Kronos with his arms crossed over his chest. Tartarus motioned farther down the hallway, where Kronos quietly followed him to.

Tartarus closed the door to the study, his lips tightly pursed. Kronos poured himself a glass of scotch and drank the whole thing in the next second. Letting out a sigh, the older of the two poured himself a second drink.

Sitting down on the desk, Kronos held up his glass and stared into it. “This is her fault, Tartarus. I tried to warn you.”

“Her fault?” Tartarus practically shouted. A book went flying from one of the shelves. “How about we start at the real accusations here? How about Rhea. She cursed my daughter-in-law.” Tartarus pointed his finger toward the door. “My grandson is die!”

When a dagger appeared in Tartarus's hand, Kronos shot up from the desk. “And what are you going to do with that? I will handle her if she truly is responsible.”

“Like you handled my sister?” Tartarus hissed back.

Narrowing his gaze, Kronos put the drink down. “She left us no choice. I was protecting you, protecting us.” Something seemed very different about Kronos. A deep anger and sadness filled his eyes as he stared back at Tartarus.

Tartarus placed a hand on his chest. “I am not going to just stand around and lose my grandson, like you lost your son.” This drew a dark glare from Kronos. “If someone will die, it'll be me.”

The anger quickly faded from Kronos's eyes. “No, absolutely not. I will not let you do such a thing.”

“The balance of life cannot be tampered with, Kronos. I learned my lesson the first time. If my grandson must live, another must die.” Tartarus pursed his lips. “It should be me. It's almost my time, Kronos, I can feel it. The whispers get louder every day, and I can see my reflection turning into nothing but bones. I'd rather die like this, then suffer that death. It's time for me to atone for all that I've done over the years.”

“But this? I can't watch you die, Tartarus.”

The younger warlock rubbed his arm. “I know. But...I can't just watch my grandson die, Kronos.” Tartarus cast his eyes to the floor. With a small smile, he leaned in and gave the other a quick, chaste kiss. With a sad look, Kronos watched Tartarus turn towards the door. “I'll send for you when it's over.”

Kronos reached out and squeezed Tartarus's hand, letting slowly slip away as the younger warlock moved towards the door. Kronos sat back down on the desk, completely still. After a while, he rubbed his temples as he took in a deep breath.

It felt like an eternity passed before there was a knock at the door. As it opened, a young man that looked very similar, just with shorter hair and colder eyes, poked his head in. “He wants to see you.” When Kronos didn't move, the young man stepped into the room. “Kronos?”

“I heard you, Pluto,” Kronos whispered, rising from the desk in a daze. There was a far off look in his eyes as Kronos followed Pluto up the stairs. Pluto led him to another door before leaving Kronos's side.

Kronos took in a deep breath before turning the doorknob.

On the bed was Tartarus, his eyes completely black. His skin was sickly pale, some of his veins even visible. From the center of his chest came a faint line of wisp, which traveled up and into the wall, directly into the next room where the baby was being born. Kronos found it impossible to move. Ever so slowly, Tartarus's cheeks began to sink in.

Clenching his jaw, Kronos looked away. Tears began to form in the immortal warlock's eyes as he crossed the room and knelt beside the bed. He looked almost childlike as he shakily clutched the other warlock's hand.

“Four hundred years, and now you're going to leave me?” Kronos smiled a little, squeezing Tartarus's hand. “It's kind of a crappy way to end things.”

Tartarus couldn't help but smile. “We were always meant to end up here. Rules and oaths are there for a reason, after all.”

Kronos wiped at his eyes and crawled onto the bed, cradling Tartarus against his chest. “I wouldn't have changed any of it.” He pressed a kiss to the pale warlock's forehead, one of his tears falling into Tartarus's hair. “I will never love anyone else more than I love you.”

Still smiling, Tartarus reached up and brushed some of the tears from Kronos's face. “Thank you, for everything. I'm sorry about the vial.”

“I know,” Kronos whispered. The warlock was fighting back sobs by this point, but he kept smiling. He leaned down and pressed their lips together for what would probably be the final time. “I love you, and I will miss you so much.”

The blackness in Tartarus's eyes slowly faded, leaving behind nothing but white. “I know,” the warlock whispered. “I love you, too.”

Kronos began to sob into Tartarus's hair, cradling his lover's head under his chin. “I don't want to lose you.”

But no answer came. The hand that had been holding onto Kronos dropped onto the bed and Kronos only buried his face deeper into Tartarus's hair. It was so different seeing the man that had been so calm and relaxed earlier sob uncontrollably, but it was entirely understandable. Pulling back from the now dead warlock, Kronos laid down beside him, brushing gently at his hair. Under his breath, Kronos kept mumbling the same word over again: No.

He stared down at Tartarus's face, running the back of his hand against the softness of the pale cheek. Kronos leaned down and kissed Tartarus again, but only cried harder when he felt the cold lips. Kronos stood up, running his hands through his hair, his eyes wild.

There was a light knock at the door. “Go away,” Kronos growled.

The door opened anyways. An African American woman that greatly resembled Hazel slid inside, keeping her eyes to the floor. “Kronos,” she whispered.

“Go away, Marie,” Kronos whispered, not taking his eyes off Tartarus's body.

“Hades wanted me to come get you. Maria wants to ask you something.”

Letting out a long breath, Kronos nodded. He turned around and followed the woman out the door. As he entered the room next door, Kronos found Hades sitting on the edge of the bed next to Maria. Nico's mother was so beautiful and serene. She held her hands out for Kronos to come over to her, but the warlock barely moved. In Hades arms was a baby boy.

Marie rubbed Kronos's back, handing him a tissue. Kronos thanked her and wiped at his eyes. He cleared his throat and looked up at the couple on the bed. “You wanted to see me?”

Maria offered him a sympathetic smile, as if she knew exactly what was hurting Kronos. Perhaps she did. “Hades and I wanted to ask you to be the godfather.”

Fixing his hair, Kronos gave a nod. “Of course.”

Hades stood up, offering the baby out for Kronos. Awkwardly, the baby was placed into Kronos's arms. Kronos stared down at the newborn with a perplexed expression, like he didn't even know what the thing was. The baby giggled at him, reaching an arm up for him. Kronos leaned his head back, making a face of discomfort.

Hades clapped Kronos on the back and the two walked out into the hallway. Kronos walked over to a nearby window, keeping an eye on the baby. A slight pain formed in Kronos's chest. It had Tartarus's eyes. Hades had them as well, but these felt different somehow. More familiar.

“So,” Kronos began, “what are you going to call the kid?”

Hades pulled out a cigar and lit it. The warlock had the biggest smile on his face as he put the cigar in his mouth. Hera passed by and chided him about smoking one of those things around a baby. Rolling his eyes, Hades put the thing out on the bottom of his shoe.

Turning to face Kronos, Hades let out a sigh. “Nico. His name is going to be Nico. Maria picked it out.”

Kronos slowly nodded. He looked down at the baby again. Baby Nico let out a small laugh as he stared up at the man holding him. Kronos's shoulder relaxed as he slowly rocked his arms back and forth. Hades squeezed his shoulder before returning back to the room with Maria. As he slowly rocked the baby, Kronos began to hum. Another tear slid down his cheek as the corners of his lips tilted up.

Percy shot up in bed, gasping for breath. He coughed a few times, his throat feeling dry. Percy slowly crawled out of bed and reached over to turn on the lamp beside his bed. His skin felt cold, even though it was fairly warm in his room. With a deep breath, Percy rose to his feet and picked up his shirt from the floor. After putting it on, he walked over and opened his door.

Wanting a drink of water, Percy wandered downstairs. This would be so much easier when he learned how to make water appear beside his bed. He yawned and ran a hand through his hair. Once he was at the bottom of the stairs, Percy stopped and blinked.

There was a light coming from the kitchen. Raising a brow, Percy continued on his way towards the kitchen. Not like there was probably any danger, right? Surely the house was warded with magic to keep intruders out. So, logically, there were only two other options for who it could be.

It turned out to be Kronos. The immortal warlock sat at the kitchen island with a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth. His golden eyes blinked in surprise when he noticed Percy there. It was still odd to see his grandfather like this—currently wearing an old T-shirt and boxers. Kronos appeared to be more of an older brother, rather than an actual grandfather.

Percy let out a yawn and walked over to the refrigerator. It wasn't really that surprising when he found it stocked with just about any drink imaginable. The downside was trying to make a decision.

“Magic fridge,” Kronos mumbled, putting another spoonful of ice cream in his mouth. “It can sense what you're wanting—food or drink—and will fill itself with different options.” He eyed Percy as the teenage boy pulled out a blue Powerade. “Trouble sleeping?”

“More like another dream,” Percy mumbled, opening the bottle. He took a seat across from his grandfather.

Kronos picked up some more ice cream and stared at it for a moment. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, you'll be staying home from school tomorrow. Possibly the next two or three days, depending on how your lessons go.”

No school? Who was Percy to complain about such a thing? He could find a way to endure for a day or two. Sure, he had lessons, but would anyone react differently in Percy's case? He was getting to learn about magic!

“Are you sure you're okay?” Kronos asked, eyeing Percy funny. “You look rather pale.”

Percy stared down at his hands. His stomach was still in small knots from his dream. Even if he hadn't been the one to experience it, Percy still felt the pain. His brow furrowed as he looked back up at his grandfather. “Nico was going to die?”

With a sigh, Kronos dropped his spoon into the glass bowl in front of him. “It was that dream then.” The immortal warlock leaned back in his seat. His golden eyes flickered off to the side in thought. “That was a very long day, one that I do not like to think about.” His eyes met with Percy's green ones. “But...I suppose this is something you should know.”

“Tartarus had bruises on him, just like Nico does.”

Kronos slowly nodded. “Tartarus was a very powerful warlock, far beyond the skill of what his father could ever dream of becoming. Hades is powerful, but not quite there. Perhaps it's for the best.” Kronos crossed his arms. “Tartarus did some things—we did some things...that weren't brought to the knowledge of the coven, Percy. Due to this, Tartarus become stronger. But power always comes at a price, and his consumed him to a point where I nearly lost him. However, Tartarus did things that had been unheard of to witches and warlocks all over the world. His power over death was astounding, and my mother saw his potential right away.”

Percy swallowed a lump in his throat. “What did he do?” His voice came out as merely a whisper, even though he didn't mean for it to.

“It happened while I was gone.” Kronos gestured to Percy. “You saw the time I came back, the time he banished me from the house. That was right after he did this.” The golden-eyed immortal let out a sigh. “I'm sure you know by now that alongside our world is the world of spirits and all things dead. It runs parallel to our own, yet never really touches. Things cross over from time to time, but cannot physically harm the living directly.”

Percy nodded.

“When we first arrived here, some of the locals—the tribes of the Vodun—took an interest in Tartarus. Through them, Tartarus was able to cross over into the spirit world. Astounding, but not unheard of. The Vodun had already mastered it, obviously.” Kronos pressed his lips together for a moment, not really meeting Percy's gaze. “It wasn't until later that he exceeded even them. You see, Tartarus found a way to anchor his body to both the world of the living and the realm of the dead. At the same time.”

Percy blinked in surprise. “That sounds pretty cool. So, he was able to see spirits everywhere?”

Kronos seemed hesitant to continue. He let out a sigh and focused his attention back on Percy. Because of this, spirits were able to physically touch him. Whether they wanted his help, or they sought to cause him harm, it didn't matter.” His grandfather shook his head. “Unfortunately, Tartarus was never able to learn a way to remove himself from the spirit world by doing this. He tried everything, but nothing worked.”

It felt like a large rock had settled in Percy's stomach. He knew that he wasn't going to like what was about to be asked, but it needed to be brought up. “I-Is that why Nico gets those bruises? Is it because Tartarus sacrificed himself to save Nico?”

As much as Percy wanted Kronos to deny it, he didn't. “Yes. When Tartarus did that, he left an imprint of his soul and power on Nico. The boy never wanted this, but we can't find a way to fix it.” Kronos swallowed a lump in his throat. “And I am still bound to my curse because of it.”

“What do you mean?”

“You see,” Kronos sighed, “because of this imprint on Nico, Tartarus cannot truly exist in the spirit world. He doesn't exist at all anymore.”

“Wait.” Percy clutched his head with a groan. “So, Nico is Tartarus now?” Was he seeing his grandfather's lover? Awkward.

To Percy's surprise, Kronos let out a small chuckle. “No, nothing like that.” The immortal warlock leaned forward on the counter. “Nico is completely himself, just with a little extra power. Possibly a few extra years of life, but we can't know for certain about that. However, when he gave up himself to save Nico, his essence was torn apart. Part of it tried to move on, but part remained here. A life essence cannot exist if it is split like that.”

“So,” Percy began slowly, “Nico isn't like possessed by Tartarus then?”

The corners of Kronos's mouth tilted up. “No, I assure you that is not the case.” The smile did not last, and Kronos slowly let out a sigh. “And, as you may know by now, there are a lot of spirits in the di Angelo house. I'm sure you can figure out what that implies.”

Percy slowly nodded, pressing his lips together. He wondered if Nico had to suffer every night with some spirit tried to reach out to him, or even tried to hurt him. It would explain it all. Hades and Persephone had never seemed like the type to harm Nico, so it had never made any sense. Now it did. It was no wonder that Nico occasionally wanted to crash with Luke, or even with Percy.

Percy had to respect Hades a little. The man had to be understanding if he let his son sleep at other houses a few nights a week in order to take care of him. Percy let out a sigh. Well, it looked like he had another thing to add to his list of things that needed to be fixed. He wasn't going to just stand by and let Nico suffer over something he didn't even do.

Then something hit Percy. “Why did she do it?”

“Who?”

“My grandmother.”

Kronos let out a long sigh. He pushed his finished ice cream aside. “Rhea found out that I was still seeing Tartarus. Perhaps it was my own fault, but it's not exactly easy to stay away from someone you care so much about. I'm sure you're starting to understand something similar.” His grandfather's eyes dulled. “She was very jealous, your grandmother.”

“She's not alive, though.” Percy pressed his lips together. “Or did she get banished, too?”

Kronos never said anything. Instead, he leaned forward and pressed his index finger to Percy's forehead. A blinding light overcame Percy and the kitchen faded away.

Rhea sat in a leather chair in front of the fireplace. It was Percy's house, though there were minor differences in the decoration. She held a glass of wine in one hand, while her other was clutching a book. The door flew open, causing her to jump.

The power flickered and then Kronos stood a few feet from her. His light brown eyes seemed to blaze in the light of the fire. Rhea closed her book, setting it aside. “Kronos, what's wrong?” She calmly asked.

Kronos clenched his fists. “You know what's wrong,” he growled.

Rhea calmly placed her hand in her lap. “It was for the best, Kronos. I only did what-”

Her words caught in her throat as she flew backwards, hitting her head against the stone fireplace. Kronos took a few steps closer, holding a hand out towards her. As he watched her, blood began to drip out from Rhea's eyes, nose, and mouth. The witch tried to scream, but it only caused blood to pour out faster. Kronos's eyes truly began to blaze, slowly turning gold as if the brown color was being burned away.

Behind him, the wine cabinet busted open and all the wine came pouring out of the bottles. It floated through the air, trailing its way over to Rhea. With a sneer, Kronos flicked his wrist. Rhea's mouth shot open, her jaw cracking and the corners of her lips ripping. The wine slowly began to pour itself down her throat. All of it. The woman began to cough some up, but it just merged back with the rest of the wine. In the firelight, Kronos's eyes looked like a cat. There was no mercy there, just cold and harsh vengeance.

Eventually, all of the wine disappeared down Rhea's throat. Some of it dribbled down the side of her cheek. But the woman just laid there, her body and eyes lifeless. Kronos's eyes didn't change back like they normally did. He cracked his neck and continued to stare at the dead body of Rhea.

Kronos didn't even flinch when Gaea cleared her throat. The woman raised an eyebrow, but did not utter a word. She seemed eerily calm about the whole ordeal, Percy thought, almost like it wasn't the first time she had seen something like this.

She walked over to the wine cabinet, letting out a sigh when she noticed that it was all gone. Gaea shook her head. “I suppose we'll need some more wine then.”

Blinking, Kronos cut his eyes over to where his mother stood. Without saying anything, Kronos lifted a hand and snapped his fingers. Rhea's body caught fire, quickly burning itself to ash. Gaea let out a sigh and flicked her hand. The ashes dissipated into the air. Instead of wine, the woman poured herself a glass of scotch. Sipping at it, she walked up to Kronos, running her fingers across his cheek.

That scene faded away and the kitchen slowly drifted back into Percy's vision. Kronos sat back in his seat, a heavy frown on his face. With a snap of his fingers, more ice cream appeared in front of him, this time with a second bowl. He silently pushed one of them across the kitchen island. Percy looked down at it, taking the spoon in his hand. He didn't know what to say.

“You killed her,” Percy finally said.

Kronos just shrugged, stirring at his ice cream absentmindedly. “I did care for your grandmother, but she killed the thing I cared about most.” His golden eyes flickered up to Percy's face. Percy wondered why Kronos kept them that way now. “The coven doesn't tolerate such things, Perseus. What Rhea did is not tolerated by the cove. Especially the fact that she tried to harm Maria and Nico in the process. What I did was sanctioned by our laws.”

Percy's lips formed a thin line. “But you also said that you and Tartarus did things that the coven doesn't allow. You broke your oath.” He quickly shut his mouth. “I-I didn't mean it like that. Um, it's just that-”

“It's fine, Percy.” Kronos was no longer meeting his gaze. Instead, the warlock stirred his ice cream, but made no action to eat it. “Yes, I have done things that the coven do not know of. Most of the coven members have their dark secrets. However, this was not kept hidden, and I didn't mean for it to. I would do it all over again without a second thought.”

\------------------

“No! You're going to tear it!” Demeter shrieked over Percy's shoulder.

The boy was very tense by this point. The woman was breathing down his neck nonstop. On the bright side, Percy was through with the majority of his lessons for the day. After he finished with Demeter, all that was left was a lesson with Hades and then finish it off with Kronos. He was unable to get a lesson from Apollo, since the guy was off at college, but Artemis told Percy that it just meant that Percy would be enduring her brother the entire weekend. Not the best news.

Percy let out a groan. It seemed like such a simple task. All he had to do was pull up this special strain of mandrake. The problem was that the thing didn't want to budge. Percy thought a more aggressive approach would work, but Demeter chided him every time that he tried.

Finally, tired of her nagging, Percy ripped the thing up.

Percy's body instantly locked up as his ears were nearly deafened by a high-pitched ringing. The boy fell over like a tree being cut down in the forest, some drool coming out of his mouth. The mandrake root landed in front of his face, which only caused the ringing to get louder. Seriously? A magical plant that was capable of having a temper tantrum?

Demeter let out a sigh, like the noise didn't even bother her. Shaking her head, the woman picked up the root and put it back in the clay pot that it had been plucked from. Percy's body unlocked. He let out a breath and sat up.

“You have to coax it out, dear,” Demeter said calmly, patting her hair.

Percy nodded, feeling dizzy. Without warning, the boy fell backwards onto the ground.

A little after three, Percy found himself at the cemetery. He fidgeted nervously, trying to avoid the dark eyes of Hades di Angelo. As if things weren't awkward already, the older warlock decided to make it worse.

“So, you like my son?”

Percy swallowed the lump in his throat. He really did not want to wake up with a skeleton in his bed for the next few weeks. “Y-Yes, sir.”

“And I trust that you would never hurt Nico...my only son.” Hades's eyes were eerily void of emotion. It was like he was just waiting for Percy to crack. 

“No, sir.”

“Good.” He held out two of his fingers. Between them was a strip of paper.

Percy slowly reached out and took it. On it was two words in Latin, or what Percy assumed was Latin. It took Percy a few tries and Hades correcting him each time, but Percy eventually got it. “Ostende invisibilum.”

Hades gave a slight nod. “It basically translates to 'reveal the unseen' or 'show invisible'.” He took the paper back from Percy. “If you're going to be a proper warlock, you need to be able to see spirits. It's one of the early spells that we learn growing up, though my house gets to be lucky enough to have the sight from birth.”

The way he said it made Percy think that Hades wasn't entirely being serious with that last comment. He supposed seeing a dead person's ghost next to your bed at age six probably wasn't the best experience.

When Percy looked up from the paper, he was surprised to see a few spirits wandering around the cemetery. There were even two that stood guard in front of the mausoleum. “Awesome,” Percy muttered.

As if things weren't bad enough already, Medea showed up towards the end of the lesson. By this point, Percy's body was as stiff as a board from the uncomfortable tension in the air between himself and Hades. Luckily, it didn't seem like Hades wanted his daughter to be there.

“What are you doing here?”

Medea shrugged, an amused look on her face. “Just thought I'd come check on the new kid.” She sat down on a tombstone. “How's it going?”

Hades twisted a ring on his left hand. “This is a lot harder than I'm used to.”

Percy frowned. He wasn't that bad, was he? However, it seemed like Medea was only there to make him suffer. “I think it's only hard for him when Nico is around,” she mused.

Percy quickly averted his gaze when Hades glared at him. What had Percy ever done to Medea? This was so not fair. Why couldn't someone else come to check on him, someone that wouldn't find joy in his suffering? He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “At least I didn't break any beds this morning.”

Medea's eyes lit up. “I think I heard Nico mention that to Hazel. Didn't Nico stay over at your apartment that night?”

Hades's lips twitched. The spirits in the graveyard slowly began to drift towards Percy. The green-eyed warlock quickly cleared his throat. “Um, we didn't do anything. Our clothes stayed on, sir.”

“Sweetie!”

Percy let out a sigh of relief at the sound of Persephone's voice. The spirits around him vanished, while Medea just cackled at the entire thing. Though, as it turned out, Percy's relief was short lived.

In the blink of an eye, Cerberus came jumping out of the side of the mausoleum. Except he wasn't so small this time. He literally came up to Percy's head, his eyes glowing red. As he let out a bark, Percy got to witness the giant teeth in the dog's mouth. The young warlock had the sudden urge to pass out.

“There you are,” Persephone said with a smile, walking into the clearing. She gave Percy a small wave as she opened the iron gate of the cemetery. “You're still doing your lessons with the boy? He's supposed to be running home by now, Hades.”

Percy let out a breath. Hades just grunted and snapped his fingers. Percy let out a yelp as he was engulfed in darkness. His body was pulled down and pulled through the dark void. He saw nothing for a split second, until his body emerged behind his new house.

Kronos was standing a few feet in front of him. The immortal closed his pocket watch and looked up at Percy. “Right on time.”

Percy felt a little dizzy, so he just groaned. This was a very long day, but at least his lessons were almost over. But how was he supposed to juggle this after he went back to school?

“You look tired, Perseus,” Kronos commented, arching a brow. Percy fought the urge to roll his eyes. The corner of Kronos's lips tilted up. “Well then, this is unfortunate, because your biggest lessons will always be with me. Your house magic is by far the most important thing for you to learn and master.”

With a snap of his finger, Kronos made a bucket appear between himself and Percy. The green-eyed wizard's skin began to tingle. It was like he could feel the water, distinguish an estimate for how much there was to use.

Kronos reached a hand out and the water swirled up to him. It circled his body, moving through the air like a snake. He held out his palm and the water zipped over to Percy, quickly circling him before it returned to the bucket. Kronos motioned to the bucket.

“Now you try. Reach out to it and see if it will listen to your call.”

Percy's brow furrowed as he stretched out a hand. Nothing. The boy pursed his lips. “Can I only manipulate water?”

“No, you'll learn to summon it or create it from thin air. Eventually, you'll even learn to freeze it and control ice, but that's a little more advanced.” His grandfather placed his hands behind his back. “You can command it to propel yourself through the water, or even learn to not drown underwater.”

Percy let out a groan. The water still didn't want to move. He stretched his arm and tried to focus again. He could feel it reaching out to him, but it was hard to latch on to that tugging feeling inside of him.

“Let yourself go, Perseus. Flow with it, let it know what you want it to do and it will listen.”

With a small nod, Percy returned his concentration to the water in the bucket. His hand began to shake as he reached out for the water to come to him. A small bead of sweat formed on his brow. And then the bucket moved. It slid across the grass for a split second before the water came shooting out of it and hit Percy in the face.

Now on the ground, Percy spit out some of the water. Kronos smirked down at him. He snapped his fingers and another bucket appeared. “Try again,” the man said. “More calmly this time, though. Think of water like your emotions. If you get frustrated or angry, the water react in accordance to that emotion.”

Right. Percy shut his eyes and let out a breath. He slowly reached out his hand again, mentally willing the water to come to him. There was a brief ringing in his ear, but Percy kept his eyes closed. He didn't think anything was happening at first, but then something wet touched his hand.

Percy slowly opened his eyes to find the water swirling around his arm. He moved his hand up to his face, watching as the water moved upwards and then swirled around his head. “Whoa,” the teenager breathed out.

“Look at that, he can actually handle magic.”

At the sound of Nico's voice, Percy jumped and the water dropped onto his head. Nico chuckled and slid his hands into the pockets of his aviator jacket. Kronos had a grin on his face as well. Percy frowned down at himself. He was soaked by this point. Kronos rolled his eyes and flicked his wrist. All of Percy's clothes and hair instantly dried.

Nico sat down on the grass, placing his hands behind himself for support. Was he really going to sit and watch Percy's lesson? No pressure, right? And the fact that Nico's shirt rode up a little, revealing a loose belt and a hint of his boxers, was rather appealing to look at.

Percy winced as Kronos smacked him upside the head. “Pay attention.”

Pouting, Percy glanced back over to Nico. The boy gave him a small wave and smile. Percy let out a sigh, smiling. Nico looked good today. Well, he looked good every day, but Percy had missed being around him.

Kronos waved a hand, causing the bucket to disappear. He rolled up his sleeves and turned back towards Percy. “We'll end there today. I just wanted to see if you could at least move the water. We can get to the real lessons tomorrow.” He cut his eyes over towards Nico. “You're free to go and talk to him.” Before Percy could run off, Kronos grabbed his arm. “Just come see me after you are done, there's something that you need to be made aware of.”

Percy gave a small nod. He watched Kronos walk up to the house for a moment before turning towards Nico with a smile. The green-eyed boy jogged over to Nico and sat down beside the other boy. “Not bad, eh?”

Nico smirked at him. “It was something. I suppose you're not a total loss as a warlock then.” At the sight of Percy's pout, Nico grinned and held his hand out. A bottle of water appeared in it, which he offered to Percy. “So, how did it go today?”

Percy just groaned and downed half the bottle. “So, how was school anyways? Miss me?”

“Only in your dreams,” Nico muttered, though Percy could tell he was joking. “It was okay. You didn't kill anyone, but the school is freaked out. And they are now aware of who your family is.” Nico pressed his lips together. “I'm sure that will be a joy for you to go back to.”

Percy gave the boy a small nudge. “Nothing I can't handle.” He smiled down at the younger warlock. “So, I hear there's an impostor coming to town.”

Finally, Nico chuckled. “Yes, I heard about that. It's funny, mortals keep wanting to imitate us, but they freak out over the slightest hint of the real thing.” The boy shrugged. “I expect this person to be nothing short of annoying. But, really, the whole thing is a sensitive matter.”

“Mortals imitating witches and warlocks?”

Nico gave a small nod. “Mortals keep trying to play around with our lore and culture, like that group in the woods. It just gets annoying after a while. Plus, they usually mess up our texts and get our lore wrong, which is a little insulting. Not to mention that they occasionally get hurt because they don't understand what they are messing with.”

Percy reached over and took Nico's hand. The other boy glanced down, but didn't pull his hand away. “You mentioned before getting upset when they mess around with your gods. What's the harm in it? I mean, aside from I guess the insult from the way they probably portray them.”

Nico let out a sigh. “It's a little different with us.” He removed his hand from Percy's, but used his fingers to trace along the green-eyed boy's palm. “I can't speak for other religions, I don't know if their gods exist. Ours is a bit different. Most have seen or caught a glimpse of at least some deity, regardless of the culture that we come from. In witchcraft, Vudun, or the Native American shamans, we have a closer bond to our gods. While they don't tend to screw around with our lives that much, they are there. It's just kind of insulting when they misunderstand our gods in such ways, or portray them as evil.”

“Evil?”

“The Horned God, most people associate him to be evil. A lot even go as far as to assume he's our version of Satan himself.” Nico let out a sigh. “It's not true, though.”

Percy intertwined their fingers, causing the younger warlock to blush a little. “I get it.” Leaning over, he pecked Nico on the cheek. “So, are we still on for Saturday?”

Nico hummed a little, the hint of a smile on his lips. “I don't know, maybe I should change my mind.”

Percy knew he was kidding. He smiled a little and leaned over, sealing their lips in a quick kiss. “By the way, your father probably doesn't like me,” the green-eyed boy said when he pulled back.

Nico arched a brow. “What happened?”

“Um, so, Medea kind of dropped in on my lesson. She sort of made a few sexual jokes about the two of us, including mentioning to your father that I magically broke my bed when you stayed over.”

Nico let out a groan. “Great,” he muttered. He brushed some of Percy's hair out of his face. “I'll talk to him. I doubt he actually dislikes you, though.” He bit down on his lip. “I need to get home.” Pulling on Percy's shirt, Nico sealed their lips in another kiss. “Maybe I'll see you tomorrow.”

Percy couldn't help but smile as Nico got to his feet and disappeared into some shadows. If Nico was initiating the kisses, it was a good sign, right? Letting out a sigh, Percy stood to his feet and stretched his arms above his head. He supposed that he needed to talk to his grandfather before it was time for dinner.

It took Percy a good fifteen minutes, but he eventually found Kronos in the study. The exact same one from his dream last night. Kronos motioned for Percy to sit down, which the boy did without question. Percy kept quiet, waiting for Kronos to start.

“You know who Circe is, don't you?”

Percy slowly nodded. “Yeah, I saw her in a few of the dreams. She was hanged in the Salem Witch Trial, even though you had them fixed.”

“Ah.” Kronos pressed his lips together. “So, you had that dream then?” He asked. Percy nodded. “It's complicated. A story for another time perhaps.” He leaned forward in his chair. “Tartarus brought her back, at least as a spirit. That was what we were arguing about in the dream where Tartarus banished me from the house. For a while, Tartarus kept her in the house. Mostly in the basement, from what I learned later.”

Percy tilted his head slightly. “I'm confused. What does this have to do with anything? Is she still in the house?”

Kronos shook his head, a grave look on his face. “No, I'm afraid not. She sort of vanished one day. Even Tartarus didn't know where she went.” The immortal warlock ran a hand through his black hair. “We thought she might have gone back to the spirit world, but that turned out not to be true. As we learned later, she had put the thoughts of hexing Maria's unborn child into your grandmother's head.”

“So, it wasn't her fault?”

“I don't know,” Kronos sighed. “It doesn't really make a difference at this point.” His features grew serious as he stood up. “After I killed Rhea, we lost her. Tartarus had been the only one that could track her, or so it seemed. However, we believe that she might be behind these murders, or even the incidents at the cemetery.”

“Why do you think that?” Percy leaned forward in his chair, watching as his grandfather walked over to the fireplace.

“Because,” Kronos said, “Nico has sensed her presence.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still on hiatus with this, so this is the last chapter I have stored up. Sorry it took so long to get out on here, I can be a little forgetful about these things. I get distracted very easily. But I will upload anything else that I have, which should just be More Than Myself.


	16. Announcement

It's been a long time for a lot of you to hear from me, I know. And those of you that also follow the new version are probably wondering why I updated this old one. It's because I wanted to tell those that enjoyed the story but didn't want to read for the new pairing what I have decided. As many of you know, I was writing a book. I have since put it on hold in favor of something else. Something I feel I owe those of you that had your story taken away. I feel that a lot of you were cheated out of a story you very much enjoyed, and I feel bad about that. Which is why I am letting everyone know that, at some point in the future, I will be seeking to have House of the Wicked published as a book.

It'll have original characters, naturally, so there will be no shipping conflict. You'll get the new version for plot, which I think has improved the story a great bit. I have really enjoyed working with the changes. Not with swapping Jason and Percy, but things like crossroads demons and changing how the curse worked.

The fic you know as House of the Wicked would be split into two books on its own. Due to size. From there, it would, hopefully, be made into a sequel. And I do have plans to further the story after the point where this fic would have ended. To expand the universe that I build ten times. And I am hoping that those of you that just wanted the fic to stay Percico will support this. You'll not only get the story I handed you years ago, but it'll be enhanced and improved upon. It'll be more of what I dreamed it to be when I first came up with it.

I don't know when or even if it'll get published, but I'll keep everyone posted. The first book would need a lot of support, to show publishers that it's worth their time, so that I could put out the rest of the series.

I have also missed a lot of you, and I have some news concerning that. I would suggest keeping an eye on my tumblr(xsonofhadesx.tumblr.com). I'm not sure how many exactly will be happy about it, but it does involve Percico. It also involves something I promised to write a year ago.

Let me know, I guess, if you like this idea about making House of the Wicked a book. I just want to let all of you that began with this story to be able to have the story you enjoyed.

**Author's Note:**

> The town is a little excessive, but the scary part is that things like this do still happen in the South. Perhaps not entirely to the extreme that this town displays, as you'll see in later chapters, but some places can be pretty bad. Now, the feel of the town as far as layout and home-like feel, a rural feel, is inspired from my hometown. But chapter 14 does explain the town, so be patient.


End file.
